US Seizes Largest Iranian Fuel Shipment Bound for Venezuela, Justice Dept. Says

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States has seized four oil tankers with Iranian fuel bound for Venezuela, the US Justice Department said in a press release on Friday.

“The Justice Department today announced the successful disruption of a multi-million dollar fuel shipment by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated foreign terrorist organization, that was bound for Venezuela”, the release said.

The Justice Department pointed out in the release that the actions represent the US government’s largest-ever seizure of fuel shipments from Iran.

Earlier on Friday, Iran’s Ambassador in Caracas Hojat Soltani denied that the United States had confiscated Iranian fuel cargo from vessels en route to Venezuela.

In July, US federal prosecutors filed a suit to seize the Iranian fuel cargoes.

The US Attorney for the District of Columbia Zia Faruqui alleged Iranian businessman Mahmoud Madanipour, linked to the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), had employed a network of shell companies using firms based in the United Arab Emirates to arrange fuel supplies that were supposed to be carried out without Washington noticing.

Since April, Tehran has dispatched five tankers to Venezuela to help Caracas overcome the fuel shortages in the country to the chagrin of the United States, trying to apply economic pressure to both countries.

Sourse: sputniknews.com