“Red carpet welcome for them! » wrote an Instagram user in Malaysia.
Virtual cheers and applause emojis greeted the arrival of Ocean Thunder at Pengerang Port on April 5. The tanker, carrying a million barrels of Basrah Heavy crude, was among the first ships to leave the Strait of Hormuz after the Iranian conflict erupted in late February.
The safe transit of Ocean Thunder was a diplomatic victory for Anwar Ibrahim, the Malaysian Prime Minister. In a telephone conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on March 26, Anwar negotiated safe passage for seven ships. The tankers were chartered by a unit of Petronas, the state-owned energy company.
“Without diplomatic efforts, I fear the Ocean Thunder would still be stuck in the Persian Gulf,” a maritime law expert from Universiti Malaya in Kuala Lumpur told Free Malaysia Today.
Malaysia’s heavily subsidized domestic fuel market relies on a steady supply of cheap Iraqi crude to ensure price stability. Nearly 70 percent of the country’s oil comes from the Persian Gulf region and half of imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Malaysia is also a top oil exporter in the 10-member ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) bloc, but it follows a “sell high, buy low” energy policy and ships premium offshore crude to Japan and Australia.
Maritime intelligence firm Windward noted that the release of the Ocean Thunder and other Petronas-linked tankers served a dual purpose, benefiting two of Iran’s longtime trading partners, Iraq and Malaysia. “Transit permissions are selectively assigned based on political alignment and cargo type,” an intelligence briefing dated April 6 said.
A foreign policy guided by “economic pragmatism” underpins Malaysia’s energy ties with Iran after the imposition of US sanctions in 2012. In addition to legal oil imports, the coastal waters around the Malaysian peninsula have served as a hub for the “Black Fleet”, a network of private ships covertly transporting oil from Iran and other sanctioned countries to markets in Asia.
Malaysia’s ties with the Islamic Republic extend beyond the oil trade. Both countries are the main defenders of the Palestinian cause in their regions. In a televised speech after his phone call with the Iranian president, Anwar reminded his audience of the situation in Gaza, saying: “Don’t forget the root of the problem. Malaysia’s influence, he explained, comes from its “non-hostile” status within the Islamic community. At a press briefing, Anwar said his office served as a conduit for messages from Gulf states to Iran during the conflict.
As the leader of an Islamic youth organization in the 1970s, the Malaysian prime minister was “deeply influenced” by the Iranian revolution and led a student delegation to Tehran to meet Ayatollah Khomeini.
In 2023, as the new prime minister, he reinvigorated diplomatic relations with Iran, sending the foreign minister to Tehran after a seven-year hiatus. Later that year, Anwar met President Ebrahim Raisi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. When the Shiite cleric was killed in a helicopter crash six months later, Anwar issued a condolence message lamenting the “tragic” death. In April, he wrote, “I lost a dear friend,” when former Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi died of his injuries following an airstrike.
Malaysia’s foreign and domestic policies are not always aligned with Iran. This predominantly Sunni country has always viewed Iranian Shiite Islam with a certain suspicion. In 1996, a religious committee in Kuala Lumpur issued a fatwa or decree calling the sect “deviant.” Although Shiites can practice their faith in private, they are prohibited from distributing religious literature and risk arrest for public celebrations of Shiite holidays like Ashura, which commemorates the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson.
Despite the taboos, Kuala Lumpur is a popular destination for Iranian students and expatriates. Narges Soleimani, daughter of murdered Quds Force commander, reportedly lived in Malaysia. However, recent reports indicate that she is a member of the Tehran city council. She was quoted by official news channels refuting claims by U.S. government officials that her cousins were “living lavishly” as permanent residents of the United States.
With the ongoing US military operation in the Strait of Hormuz, Malaysia’s oil situation remains precarious. Although Ocean Thunder managed to pass through the blockade, other ships bound for Pengerang are blocked and some ships are reported to have been damaged.
“Some people ask if oil comes from the Strait of Hormuz, why is it so expensive? My answer is that insurance prices have increased by 150 percent and transportation has also increased due to the risks,” the prime minister remarked at the inauguration of a new airport terminal last month.
Anwar warned that a prolonged disruption could force Malaysia to buy fuel in the spot market, putting pressure on the subsidized price of RM1.99 ($0.50) per liter.