The US government on Wednesday urged Panama to withdraw its flag from Iranian ships, as Washington suspects that tankers flying the Central American country’s flag are transporting oil and managing to evade its sanctions.

“Iran and organizations associated with it are trying to escape sanctions here in Panama, they are trying to abuse that they have a Panamanian flag,” said the US special envoy for Iran, Abram Paley, during a visit to the Central American state.

Mr. Paley explained during a press conference that he went to the country to ensure that “Panama’s registration and jurisdiction will not be misused by entities trying to escape” US “sanctions” against ” of Iran”.

Panama is among the main preferred countries for obtaining a flag of opportunity internationally. According to official data, some 8,500 ships are registered in the Panamanian registry.

Washington suspects that Iran is using some of these ships to transport oil or petroleum products in order to finance pro-Iranian entities that it describes as “terrorist” organizations.

According to Mr. Paley, at least six Panamanian-flagged ships have violated US sanctions since January.

Iran has been subject to very severe US economic sanctions since Donald Trump’s presidency, when Washington unilaterally withdrew (2018) from the international agreement on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program, which was concluded three years earlier and provided for restrictions on it .

In retaliation, Tehran began reneging on commitments it had made under the international deal, before last year slowing its rate of enriched uranium production by 60 percent as it resumed informal talks with the US. But Tehran ramped up production again in late 2023.

“We hope that the Panamanian government will continue to cooperate with us, based on its national legislation and international obligations,” added Mr. Paley.