Iran says U.S. move to seize oil shipment is ‘act of piracy’ By Reuters

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran mentioned on Monday {that a} U.S. transfer this month to grab a cargo of oil on the grounds that it got here from Tehran was an act of piracy, including that the cargo didn’t belong to the Iranian authorities.

Washington filed a lawsuit earlier this month to grab the cargo, alleging that Iran sought to masks the origin of the oil by transferring it to a number of vessels earlier than it ended up aboard the Liberian-flagged Achilleas tanker destined for China.

Washington mentioned the cargo contravened U.S. terrorism laws.

“This cargo doesn’t belong to the Iranian authorities. It belongs to the personal sector,” Overseas Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh informed a weekly information convention.

He didn’t elaborate on what he meant by the personal sector.

The Achilleas final reported its place on Sunday as anchored throughout the Galveston Offshore Lightering Space, which is outdoors the U.S. Gulf port of Galveston, Refinitiv ship monitoring information confirmed on Monday.

A U.S. official mentioned final week that Washington had offered greater than one million barrels of Iranian gasoline seized underneath its sanctions programme final yr.

Tensions have mounted between Washington and Tehran since 2018, when former U.S. President Donald Trump deserted Iran’s 2015 nuclear take care of six main powers and reimposed sanctions on the nation.

U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged to revive the nuclear deal if Tehran returns to full compliance with the accord.

“It is rather unlucky that such an act of piracy is going on underneath the brand new U.S. administration … an answer must be discovered to cease such acts of piracy by anybody for any purpose,” the spokesman Khatibzadeh added.