Good to see you again: Anwar greeting Ismail at a hotel in Doha. Looking on is Khaled. — Bernama
DOHA: There is “not one shred of evidence” of ship-to-ship transfers of sanctioned Iranian oil off Malaysia, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Speaking at an economic forum in Qatar, the Prime Minister said Malaysia does not have the capacity to monitor ship-to-ship transfers in international waters.
His statement came amid the United States’ concern that Iran was using Malaysian service providers to move its oil.
Reports quoted a senior US Treasury official as saying that the US saw Iran’s capacity to move its oil as being reliant on providers in Malaysia.
The official also said the US was trying to prevent Malaysia from becoming a jurisdiction where the Palestinian group Hamas could both fundraise and move money.
Malaysia has long been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause and has advocated for a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
Anwar met Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh during his trip to Qatar.
He said that while he maintained good relations with the political wing of Hamas, he had no involvement with its military operations.
“I have no involvement or discussions with the military apparatus (of Hamas),” he said at the forum.
The Prime Minister also said that Malaysia was firm in its stand that Israel must stop the atrocities against Palestinians, release all Palestinian prisoners and agree to a peace plan.
In a post on Facebook, Anwar said he conveyed the matter when he met the Hamas delegation, led by its leader Ismail and former Hamas chairman Khaled Mashal, in Qatar.
He said Malaysia remained committed to playing its role at the international level to stop the attack on Rafah.
This include mobilising more efforts to help victims of the war in Gaza, especially in terms of humanitarian aid, medicine and education.
“Since the conflict broke out (almost) eight months ago, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been killed and injured, with half of the land of Gaza in permanent destruction due to the brutality of the Zionist regime.
“Malaysia appreciates the willingness of Hamas to release prisoners, especially children and women, and to accept the peace plan of the Arab world, the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) and the international community,” Anwar said.
At the meeting, the Prime Minister conveyed his condolences on the passing of Ismail’s family members who were killed in the brutal bombing by the Zionist regime.
He said he was also briefed on the latest situation in Gaza and Rafah.
The meeting between Anwar and Ismail in Doha lasted over an hour, Bernama reported.
It was Anwar’s first face-to-face meeting with Ismail as Prime Minister. He has met the Hamas leader twice, with the last one in 2020 when Ismail visited Malaysia.
They also met in 2019.
On Monday, Anwar, who is on a three-day official visit to Qatar, met the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Hamad Al Thani and his counterpart Sheikh Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
He said the two countries agreed that all parties should play a role in finding a solution to end the suffering of the Palestinian people.
Malaysia is one of the countries that loudly condemns the Zionist atrocities and supports efforts towards the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.
