US seizes four Iranian fuel shipments bound for Venezuela amid heightened tensions

On August 14, the United States said that it had seized four Iranian fuel shipments. Reports suggest that the shipments were on their route to Venezuela. The US had also confiscated the cargoes with the aim of disrupting a key supply line for both Tehran and Caracas. This was done in retaliation to the defiance of sanctions imposed by the US on both countries to choke oil exports. The sanctions were imposed to deprive them of their main source of revenue. Reportedly, US had also threatened to sanction any ship owners and vessels involved in oil trade with Tehran and Caracas.

Read: Officials: U.S. Seizes Iranian Oil Heading For Venezuela

Tensions increase between Iran and the United States

According to reports, US President Donald Trump said that Iran should not be sending shipments to Venezuela and the shipments are bound to Houston in Texas. He added that they might have already arrived. The US Justice Department reportedly said that the cargo is in US custody “with the assistance of foreign partners”. He added that the amount confiscated from four tankers was about 1.116 million barrels of fuel. The details of the seizure have not been disclosed. However, Venezuela had already paid for the fuel. 

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According to reports, the four tankers that carried the cargoes were owned and managed by companies controlled by Greece-based firms Vienna LTD and Palermo SA. Late on August 14, threats of legal action and sanctions by the United States forced these Greek ship owners to surrender Iranian fuel to the US. Further, reports suggest that the operation took place in international waters without the physical presence of any authorities from the US. There was no assistance from any foreign government. The owners of the four seized vessels have reportedly agreed to transfer fuel so it could be shipped to the United States. 

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(Image Credits: AP)