Brazil's Chief Justice Dias Toffoli has in a ruling ordered the state-run oil company Petrobras to provide fuel for Iranian vessels carrying grain and that have been stranded in one of the country's ports for around a month. The ships were forced to stay in Paranagua port after they ran out of fuel and couldn't return home, while Petrobras has refused to refuel them, citing US sanctions against Iran.
Professor Dorival Guimaraes Pereira Junio from the Brazilian Institute of Capital Markets explained that the oil company is concerned about the sanctions because it has assets in the US and its shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, rendering it vulnerable if the US were to decide to retaliate for refuelling the tankers.
At the same time, the academic believes that neither Petrobras, nor Brazil in general should have followed the US policies in this case, for several reasons. Firstly, he pointed out that the Iranian vessels were private and not state-owned.
The professor went on to say that it's not in Brazil's interests to spoil its relations with Iran, which is a major importer of Brazilian goods, especially in the agricultural sector. Dorival Guimaraes Pereira Junio noted that should Iran decide to retaliate, the move could negatively affect Brazil's trade balance, which is not in the country's interests.
"I stand against automatically following [the US line of politics] regarding the Iranian issue. I think that this issue shouldn't affect Brazil and negatively affect [it]. Otherwise we would pay [a] hefty price for [an] issue that even doesn't concern us", he said.
The professor added that regardless of the country's relations with other states, including the US, it should not sacrifice the interests of its own domestic producers, which profit from selling goods to Iran.
The US withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, an accord that lifted sanctions from the Islamic Republic, in May 2018 and in November of the same year imposed sanctions on the Iranian economy, namely its energy, banking, and shipping sectors. Despite this, Iran and other signatories to the deal have vowed to counter the American sanctions in a bid to preserve the deal.
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