TFIZ01: INFOMIN: SEVEN OIL TRUCKS GO TO IRAQ,

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 001898 SIPDIS CENTCOM FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/2013 TAGS: PREL EPET ETRD IZ JO SUBJECT: TFIZ01: INFOMIN: SEVEN OIL TRUCKS GO TO IRAQ, RETURN EMPTY; JORDAN WILL NOT RESUME IRAQI CRUDE IMPORTS REF: AMMAN 1881 Classified By: PolCouns Doug Silliman for reasons 1.5 (B)(D) ¶1. (C) Information Minister Mohammad Adwan told the Ambassador March 30 that, contrary to information reported in ref conversation with Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher, the GOJ had in fact sent seven oil tanker trucks to al-Qaem in Iraq (near H-1) to take delivery of some Iraqi oil. The trucks had returned empty. According to Adwan, the Iraqi official in charge of the oil terminal at al-Qaem had told the drivers that he had no "license" to give any more crude oil to Jordan. ¶2. (C) Adwan said that the exercise was "a publicity stunt" to disprove Iraqi VP Taha Yassin Ramadan's accusatory statement last week that Jordan had shut off Iraqi oil shipments. Jordan, he confirmed, has no intention of resuming shipments of Iraqi oil. Adwan said he was pleased that, should Iraqi officials again publicly criticize Jordan over oil or trade issues, Jordan would be able to respond that it was Iraq, not Jordan, that had shut down oil trade. ¶3. (C) COMMENT: The Ambassador castigated Adwan about the serious damage this "publicity stunt" could have caused to U.S.-Jordanian relations if something had gone wrong. GNEHM