Sri Lanka Pays Partial Oil Debt to Iran with $20M in Ceylon Tea

Sri Lanka has repaid $20 million in oil debt to Iran with tea in a move that Sri Lanka officials say do not violate U.S. sanctions on Iran, Agence France Presse reports.  In April 2022, Sri Lanka defaulted on $46 billion in foreign debt, earning a $2.9-billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and leaving it bereft of cash to pay its oil debt to Iran.  Sri Lanka owes a total of $251 million in oil debt to Iran, of which $20 million has now been paid in the form of tea.  “So far US$20 million worth of tea has…