File video: The Iranian fuel tanker Fortune docked on May 25, 2020 at a port of El Palito refinery in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. "With this arrival, with the ship Fortune and the other ships that are already in Venezuela's territorial sea, in the exclusive economic zone, and that will continue to arrive in Venezuela, the self-determination of the people is expressed. We have the right to freedom of trade, to bilateral cooperation with any country in the world such as this, which has deep roots," says Tareck El Aissami, Venezuela's Minister of Petroleum. (Xinhua)
U.S. officials expect the seizure would deter shipping companies from dealing with Iran and Venezuela.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday announced that the United States had confiscated Iranian fuel from four tankers bound for Venezuela, a move to further increase its pressure campaign against Tehran and Caracas.
The Justice Department said in a statement that the U.S. government had confiscated the cargo from all four vessels, which were Luna, Pandi, Bering and Bella, totaling approximately 1.116 million barrels of petroleum.
"With the assistance of foreign partners, this seized property is now in U.S. custody," the statement added, without providing further details.
The statement noted that the seizure marks the U.S. government's largest-ever seizure of fuel shipments from Iran.
Photo taken on May 29, 2019 shows the U.S. Department of Justice headquarters building in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
Citing U.S. officials, The Wall Street Journal wrote in a Thursday piece that the four tankers were seized at sea in recent days and are now en route to Houston.
U.S. officials expected the seizure would deter shipping companies from dealing with Iran and Venezuela.
The United States in June designated five Iranian tanker captains who helped transport Iranian gasoline to Venezuela.
The seizure announcement came amid a fresh round of U.S. maximum pressure campaign against Iran. Earlier this week, the United States introduced a resolution at the UN Security Council to extend the UN arms embargo on Iran despite lukewarm support for the bid.
Under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, the arms embargo will be lifted Oct. 18. Tehran made it clear that it would not accept a renewal of the embargo. ■
