Several users on social media, especially on X (formerly Twitter), are claiming that Iran allowed an Indian oil tanker to pass through the Strait of Hormuz after paying in Chinese yuan.
A user on X wrote a post, ‘BREAKING NEWS Allegedly, today, an Indian oil tanker paid Iran in Chinese yuan to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.’
Many other users have also shared the post with similar claims in other languages, which can be viewed here, here, and here.
Fact Check:
DFRAC’s team, after investigating the viral claim, found it to be fake. We conducted a keyword search for news about an Indian oil tanker paying Iran in Chinese yuan to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, but no such news was reported.
Upon further investigation, we found a report by CNN News stating, ‘Iran is also considering allowing a limited number of oil tankers to pass through the strait provided the oil cargo is traded in Chinese yuan, a senior Iranian official told CNN last week’.
We also found the reports by The Times of India and NDTV that stated the same news, citing CNN. But there was no mention of India trading in Chinese yuan for an oil tanker to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
In our further investigation, we found a post by India’s MEA Fact Check Unit. In that post, it was clarified that the viral posts claiming an Indian oil tanker paid Iran in Chinese yuan to pass through the Strait of Hormuz are fake.
Conclusion:
The viral claim by several social media users that an Indian oil tanker was allowed to cross the Strait of Hormuz after paying for the oil in Chinese yuan is false.
