US seizes multi-million-barrel Iranian fuel shipment bound for Venezuela

The ships’ tracking devices were reportedly turned off over the past several weeks. The vessels eventually began sailing toward the United States after American government officials negotiated with the ships’ owners, according to Reuters.

Iran then attempted to retaliate yesterday for the seizure, the Justice Department said. Iranian navy forces near the Strait of Hormuz boarded and took control of the MT Wila — a Greek-owned, Liberian-flagged tanker — before letting the ship and its crew go.

“After enforcement of the US forfeiture order, Iran’s navy forcibly boarded an unrelated ship in an apparent attempt to recover the seized petroleum, but was unsuccessful,” the DOJ said.

The US-backed maritime coalition in the Gulf observed the takeover of the Wila and publicized the incident yesterday, but did not offer possible Iranian motives or mention any attempted fuel extraction.

The Trump administration is engaged in a so-called “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran to coerce the Islamic Republic’s leaders to re-negotiate the 2015 nuclear deal, from which the United States unilaterally withdrew in 2018.

The Trump administration accuses Iran of exploiting the deal to expand its ballistic missile program while supporting proxy militias in neighboring countries.

The United States also increased its military activities in the Caribbean earlier this year following reports that Russia had sent military support to prop up the government of President Nicolas Maduro. The Trump administration has repeatedly called for Maduro’s ouster and has enacted crippling sanctions on Venezuela’s government.

The oil-rich Latin American country has come to depend on foreign fuel shipments amid its economic collapse. Iran, seeking foreign markets, has stepped up.

Five tankers carrying Iranian gasoline arrived in port in Venezuela in May and June, escorted by Venezuela’s navy. The US Treasury Department then sanctioned the captains of the five ships who delivered the fuel.