American Military News by Ryan Morgan January 26, 2021
Report: US orders seizure of 2 million barrels of suspected Iranian oil shipment
The U.S. is attempting to seize a shipment of oil it believes came from Iran by way of a Liberian-flagged oil tanker, the Achilleas this week.
Sources familiar with the seizure efforts, who spoke with Bloomberg, said the U.S. initiated the effort to seize the Achilleas, after the ship’s Greek owner, Capital Ship Management Corp., told U.S. authorities they believed they unknowingly accepted a 2 million barrel shipment of Iranian crude oil. Following the notification, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a seizure order for the oil, according to Bloomberg.
This latest U.S. effort to seize an Iranian oil shipment comes after the U.S. moved to seize four other Iranian oil shipments bound for Venezuela in August.
President Biden has said he wants to improve U.S. relations with Iran, including by renegotiating the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, which President Trump withdrew from in 2018. Efforts to improve U.S. relations with Iran are a “long way†off, according to Biden secretary of state nominee Anthony Blinken.
The latest U.S. effort to seize the Iranian oil could also complicate efforts between the Biden administration and Iran.
More:
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2021/01/report-us-orders-seizure-of-2-million-barrels-of-suspected-iranian-oil-shipment/
