A superyacht reportedly linked to a key Vladimir Putin ally sailed through the Strait of Hormuz unscathed last week, despite the ongoing blockade of the vital oil passageway.
The vessel traveled overnight from Dubai to Muscat, Oman on April 24 into the early morning hours of April 25, according to MarineTraffic data. It’s one of the very few private boats to traverse the strait without opposition from Iran, which has attacked several vessels trying to cross over in recent weeks and littered the passage with mines.
The Nord, a 465-foot multi-deck luxury boat, is said to be worth $500 million and linked to sanctioned Russian oligarch billionaire Alexei Mordashov.
Russia has long had a close relationship with Iran — the Islamic regime provided Moscow with drones to use in the Ukraine war when stocks began running low.
On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to St. Petersburg to meet with Putin.
Russia is a longstanding ally of Iran. The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, travelled to St Petersburg on Monday for a meeting with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, after discussions with peace mediators in Pakistan and Oman at the weekend.
Iran has effectively guarded the strait since the U.S. and Israel launched a joint strike on the Islamic Republic in late February, choking the global oil market and sending gas prices skyrocketing.
Despite an ongoing ceasefire between Washington and Iran, Tehran has refused to allow most vessels to pass. It has become the Middle Eastern nation’s strongest bargaining chip in a conflict that has dealt considerble damage to its economy.
The current state of the war hasn’t progressed beyond a three-week extension of the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, which was announced on April 23.
Moreover, President Trump announced over the weekend that peace talks in Pakistan were canceled after Iranian officials expressed no interest in ceding to U.S. demands.
“I’ve told my people a little while ago — they were getting ready to leave — and I said, ‘Nope, you’re not making an 18-hour flight to go there,” Trump told Fox News White House Correspondent Aishah Hasnie in a phone call.
“We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you’re not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing.”
Trump insisted the U.S. would not walk out of Pakistan without a “great deal.”