US embassy cable - 03AMMAN1898

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