Iran's oil minister visits strategic oil port in Kharg island as Israeli threat increases

Iran's Oil Minister Mohsen Paknej on Sunday arrived in Kharg Island, to tour country's biggest oil terminal, amid rising fears of attacks by Israel on Iran's oil infrastructure.

It comes in wake of a statement by an Israeli military spokesman over weekend, indicating that Israel would respond "when time is right" after Tehran launched a missile attack last week. Israeli officials have also said that Iran's oil infrastructure may be on list of targets in retaliatory action.

Paknej's visit was even followed by meetings with operational staff at Kharg Island facility that holds up to 23 million barrels of crude oil in storage, Shana, news website of oil ministry reported.
context of se developments is provided by US President Joe Biden's comments on Friday where he expressed uncertainty over response strategy by Israel.
China, which doesn't respect US sanctions, is still Iran's biggest oil customer, importing between 1.2 to 1.4 million barrels a day from Tehran during first half of 2024, analysts say.