Insights and Stories of Jonathan Saul

Dec. 13, 2013 at 7:14 pm CST

Syria tendered to import food on Friday using a credit line from Iran’s export bank, in what could be a test of last month’s landmark deal to ease Western financial sanctions on Tehran. Sanctions also imposed on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government do not cover food but those on banking, […]

By Jonathan Saul, Michael Hogan

Nov. 28, 2013 at 7:13 pm CST

After years of difficulty caused by economic sanctions, suppliers are hoping a nuclear deal will make it easier to win lucrative contracts to sell wheat, sugar and other food to Iran. Iran was never barred from buying food, but EU and U.S. financial measures have made trade more difficult for […]

By Jonathan Saul, Michael Hogan

Nov. 4, 2013 at 2:43 pm CST

After months out of international grain markets and payment hurdles, Iran is now seeking at least 300,000 tonnes of milling wheat to help satisfy major import needs due to a poor domestic harvest, traders said Monday. Iran has to import 7.5 million tonnes of wheat this year, President Hassan Rouhani […]

By Jonathan Saul, Michael Hogan

Oct. 11, 2013 at 6:35 pm CDT

Deliveries of wheat are starting to reach Syria’s ports as its bank accounts abroad are gradually being freed from sanctions, with grain traders detecting a greater willingness from European governments to allow deals to go ahead on humanitarian grounds. As civil war grinds on, Syria is facing its worst wheat […]

By Jonathan Saul, Michael Hogan

Sep. 27, 2013 at 12:02 pm CDT

A Syrian buyer has concluded a deal for 23,000 tonnes of milling wheat, the first commercial cargo to be booked in weeks as civil conflict and a financing crunch have held up deals, trade sources said on Friday. Syria faces its worst wheat harvest in nearly three decades as war […]

By Jonathan Saul, Pavel Polityuk