US-Seized Iranian Oil Offloaded Near Texas
A tanker seized by the US for carrying sanctioned Iranian crude oil has begun offloading its cargo despite Tehran’s threats against shipping shipping companies.
A tanker seized by the US for carrying sanctioned Iranian crude oil has begun offloading its cargo despite Tehran’s threats against shipping shipping companies.
The Associated Press cited tanker-tracking data on Sunday that showed the oil cargo is being transferred from Marshall Islands-flagged Suez Rajan, a tanker anchored off the coast of Texas, near Galveston about 50 miles (80 km) from Houston.
The owners of the Suez Rajan, the Los Angeles-based private equity firm Oaktree Capital Management, did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the ship-to-ship transfer.
On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of US lawmakers from the House and Senate asked the Biden administration to respond to “unprecedented intimidation” tactics from Iran that have prevented American firms from offloading the confiscated oil cargo.
The US seized the Iranian oil onboard the ship late in May in accordance with US sanctions, but the oil had reportedly not been offloaded as US federal prosecutors have faced challenges in auctioning off the 800,000 barrels of oil. The lawmakers estimated the value of the oil to be $56 million.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the US companies are reluctant to unload the oil due to concerns about potential Iranian reprisals, particularly threats of violence by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Iran's IRGC navy commander Alireza Tangsiri warned in July that Tehran would retaliate against any oil company involved in unloading the Iranian oil.
The US Navy has increased its presence steadily in recent weeks in the Mideast, sending the troop-and-helicopter-carrying USS Bataan through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days and considering putting armed personnel on commercial ships traveling through the strait to stop Iran from seizing additional ships.
Without providing names or details about the detainees, the intelligence minister even claimed that despite foreign pressures some of the “spies have been executed.”
Iran executed Iranian-Swedish political activist and former leader of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz (ASMLA) Habib Chaab (Asyud) in May.
In January, Iran executed British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari, after sentencing the former Iranian deputy defense minister to death on charges of spying for Britain.
Khatib, who is a hardliner cleric, was addressing the 24th assembly of senior Revolutionary Guard officers in Tehran, where he praised Iran’s multiple intelligence services for working together to thwart “enemy conspiracies” and domestic threats.
Khatib reiterated the regime’s ideological precept that “the enemy” continues to plot against the Islamic Republic, which has become a “global power.” He claimed that “50 intelligence services” around the world have set up “Iran desks” to be able to confront “a new global power.”
The term “enemy” is a favorite word used by Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei to refer to the United States, Israel and their allies and partners, but Khatib did not elaborate about who these 50 adversaries around the world are.
Although Iran has released several European high-profile hostages this year, including French and Belgian prisoners held on spying charges, it is not clear how many more are left behind.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who spoke in May after the release of two French hostages, said more work is needed “because there are, unfortunately, too many who are detained without reason in Iran.” Apparently, four French citizens and numerous other Europeans remain incarcerated in Iran.
While intelligence minister Khatib boasted about holding European “spies” he did not mention the five American hostages who were released into house arrest earlier this month after a deal with the Biden administration to unblock $6 billion of Iran’s money in South Korea.
The deal has triggered a lot of criticism in the United States, where politicians and some analysts have voiced fear that essentially paying $1.2 billion per hostage will embolden the Islamic Republic and other adversaries to take Americans hostage. Iranian hardliners certainly see the deal as ransom payment by the United States.
A firebrand senior ayatollah, Ahmad Alamolhoda on Friday called the release of Iran’s frozen funds by the US “a humiliation” and a “ransom” in exchange for “their spies.” The cleric is close to Khamenei and is the father-in-law of President Ebrahim Raisi.
Khatib also reiterated that “the enemy’s” aim is to destabilize Iran and reduce participation in the upcoming parliamentary elections in March. The regime has blamed anti-government protests on US and Israeli plots, while it killed more than 500 civilians, injured thousands and has arrested around 22,000 since last September.
Regime politicians and many analysts in Iran believe that voter turnout will be low in March, simply because hardliners prevented other regime loyalists to run both in the 2020 parliamentary and in the 2021 presidential elections. People see no real choice and are deeply angered by the current economic and political crises. They do not believe that Khamenei will change his Anti-West foreign policy and sanctions will continue to increase hardships they face.
