Tehran Says Ships Targeted by U.S. Were Holding Iranian Fuel
Four tankers whose cargoes were seized by the U.S. over the past month were heading to Venezuela with gasoline loaded in Iran, according to Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh.
His comments are the first acknowledgment by Tehran that the vessels were transporting shipments from the Islamic Republic when the U.S. confiscated them. Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday it was a “lie” that the tankers were Iranian, though he didn’t comment on what they held.
James Malloy, commander of the U.S. Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain, said on Monday that Washington used contracted vessels to seize the Iranian fuel and transfer it to other ships. Two of the transfers took place in the Gulf of Oman, and the other two occurred off the coast of Mozambique, he said on a call with reporters.
The seizure was an unprecedented step by Washington, which said the ships contained 1.1 million barrels of gasoline, and it could destabilize global oil markets if Iran retaliates. The U.S. Navy is in contact with commercial shipping amid perceived Iranian threats, Malloy said.
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/tehran-says-tankers-seized-u-080205963.html
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