January 17: Iraq agrees to talks concerning a United Nations plan to allow for the Iraqi sale of $1 billion of oil for 90 days for a 180-day trial period. Under Resolution 986, proceeds from the sale would be used for humanitarian purposes. In the past, Iraq has opposed clauses 6 and 8b contained in Resolution 986. Clause 6 stipulates that oil exports under this plan must pass through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, which currently is unusable because of sludge build-ups and pumping station damage. By most estimates, the line would take a minimum of three months to repair. Clause 8b states that part of the proceeds from the sales would be disbursed under U.N. supervision to Kurdish provinces in northern Iraq. Negotiations between Iraq and the United Nations are scheduled to begin February 6, 1996. January 30: Vice Admiral Scott Redd, commander of the United States Fifth Fleet based in the Persian Gulf, states that Iran test-fired a new anti-ship missile near the Strait of Hormuz on January 6. The missile reportedly has a range of 60 miles (100 km) and is viewed as a threat to regional security by United States naval forces operating in the area. Oil tankers carry about through the Strait. February 17: The Sea Empress, a Liberian oil tanker en route to a Texaco oil refinery in Milford Haven, Wales, runs aground in the entrance to Milford Haven Bay. The tanker spills 73,000 tonnes of its 130,824 tonne cargo of light crude oil. April 24: In New York City, the United Nations and Iraq end a third round of negotiations over Iraq's possible sale of $1 billion of oil for 90 days for a 180-day trial period. While both sides have reached agreement on most of the key issues, chief Iraqi negotiator Abdul Amir al-Anbari says that the United States and the United Kingdom have fundamentally altered the text of a proposed agreement which he had received from the United Nations early in the third round. Al-Anbari states that the changes have postponed any possible deal. The U.N.-Iraq talks were scheduled to restart on May 10. April 30: In the United States, President Bill Clinton approves the sale of $227 million of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. At current oil prices, roughly would be sold. The Clinton Administration hopes that the sale will lower gasoline prices in the United States, which are at