The Biden government wants to legally take ownership of about one million barrels of Iranian oil that they confiscated.
The US government has admitted to taking control of a shipment with almost one million barrels of Iranian oil earlier this year. This action raised tensions in the Gulf region. Although Reuters reported the seizure in April, it was officially confirmed by the US Department of Justice on Friday.
The oil is in trouble because the company that was moving it, called Suez Rajan Limited, admitted to helping break the rules about selling Iranian oil. This is the first time a company has been held accountable for this kind of wrongdoing. The US government is taking action to seize the oil, which is worth a lot of money.
They’re proud that they stopped a big shipment of oil that was being moved by a group called the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This group is considered a very dangerous organization in the US.
Right now, the US and Iran are working on a deal to exchange prisoners, even though there are still problems to solve about sanctions and Iran’s nuclear program.
After the US took the Iranian oil, they accused Iran of capturing other ships in the Gulf. In August, the Pentagon said it was sending more US troops to the area to help prevent conflicts and safeguard important water routes, like the Strait of Hormuz. This made Iran very upset.
The US sees stopping Iranian oil ships as enforcing the law, but Iran believes taking Iranian property in international waters is like stealing.
An official from Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Kanaani, said recently, “Going onto ships carrying Iranian oil without permission is a clear example of stealing. Iran won’t just watch if its rights are violated; it will stop those who are being aggressive.
In August, it was reported by many news sources that the US began taking the Iranian oil off the ship near Texas. American legal officials are trying to get permission from a court to officially have control of the oil. They’re using US laws related to terrorism and illegal money activities as a basis. Iran is categorized as a country that supports terrorism, according to the US.
For a while now, the US and Iran have been struggling to restart discussions about a nuclear agreement from 2015. In that deal, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for the US lifting economic sanctions.
The previous US President, Donald Trump, ended the agreement in 2018. Since then, Iran, which claims it doesn’t want nuclear weapons, has been increasing its nuclear activities.
The current Biden administration has continued with the sanctions that Trump imposed, promising to greatly reduce Iran’s oil sales. However, present-day US officials blame the previous president for the deadlock.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan explained, “I want to highlight that, in the administration before the one we had recently, Iran’s nuclear program was under control. The previous president let it get out of control.
We’re currently dealing with the consequences of that choice. Our goal is to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and so far, we’ve been successful. We’re keeping a close watch on this every day.
SOURCE:ALJAZEERA