Washington’s Threats Forced Greek Shippers to Give Iran Fuel to U.S. - The Wall Street Journal

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The Justice Department seized the fuel cargo aboard four tankers, including the Bering, sent by... — The Justice Department seized the fuel cargo aboard four tankers, including the Bering, sent by Iran to Venezuela.
Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

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Aug. 14, 2020 7:57 pm ET

U.S. threats of legal action and sanctions forced Greek shipowners to surrender Iranian fuel to the U.S. government in recent days, people familiar with the confiscation said.

The Justice Department confirmed Friday it had confiscated cargo in four vessels allegedly loaded with Iranian fuel in violation of sanctions, as the Trump administration steps up its campaign of maximum pressure against Iran. The fuel was headed for Venezuela.

The operation took place in international waters without the physical presence of any U.S. authorities or the assistance of any foreign government, said the people, who included a U.S. government official.

The contacts between U.S. officials and the ships’ owners took place remotely. The shippers grew frightened when a U.S. federal prosecutor filed suit to seize the four tankers of fuel, and Washington warned them that they or their crews could be sanctioned, according to the people. Such sanctions generally include a ban on accessing U.S. banks and dollars, which dominate the global financial system.

The owners of ships targeted by the U.S. legal action—the Luna, the Pandi, the Bella and the Bering—then agreed to transfer their cargo to vessels owned by Greece’s Eurotankers and Denmark’s Maersk, which are now heading to Houston, the people said. Maersk and Eurotankers didn’t return a request for comment.

Iranian fuel cargo was also seized from the Luna oil tanker by the U.S.
Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

In a press release, the Justice Department credited the State Department’s Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook with halting the shipments and assisting the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security in executing a U.S. seizure order for the fuel cargo. The release said the proceeds from the Iranian oil, if successfully recovered in U.S. courts, could support the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund. The hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, it said, had initially sold the cargo.

Venezuela had already paid for the fuel so Iran won’t lose any revenue from the confiscation, said a person familiar with the Iranian side of the transaction.

“The Iranian regime uses oil revenue to fund terrorism,” Mr. Hook alleged. “We have collapsed Iran’s oil sector through a significant sanctions regime, and we enforce our sanctions. We have warned the maritime community for two years of the dangers of moving Iranian oil.”

Write to Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@wsj.com and Courtney McBride at courtney.mcbride@wsj.com

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Washington’s Threats Forced Greek Shippers to Give Iran Fuel to U.S. - The Wall Street Journal

The Justice Department seized the fuel cargo aboard four tankers, including the Bering, sent by Iran to Venezuela.

Iranian fuel cargo was also seized from the Luna oil tanker by the U.S.

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