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Iran had planned to transport the gasoline to Venezuela, a
supply line that both Tehran and Caracas have flaunted in
defiance of U.S. sanctions. Washington has imposed sanctions on
both countries to choke oil exports and deprive their
governments of their main source of revenue.
Iranian action against another ship on Wednesday in the Gulf was
in retaliation against the Greek owner of some of the vessels
that were carrying the fuel cargoes, the government source and
two shipping sources said.
U.S. prosecutors filed a lawsuit in July to seize the gasoline
aboard the four tankers, and a judge subsequently issued a
warrant for seizure. The fuel cannot be seized until the tankers
carrying it enter U.S. territorial waters.
The owners of the four vessels agreed to have the fuel
transferred to other vessels so it could be shipped to the
United States, a U.S. government source said on Thursday. The
warrant only covered the cargoes, not the vessels.
The U.S. Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security
and State Department declined to comment on the record on
Thursday. Neither Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA nor
Venezuela's oil or information ministries responded to requests
for comment.
The United States has previously threatened to impose sanctions
on any shipowners and vessels involved in oil trade with
Venezuela and Iran.
The four tankers that initially carried the cargoes were the
Liberia-flagged Bella, Bering, Pandi and Luna. They are owned
and managed by companies controlled by Greece-based firms Vienna
LTD and Palermo SA. The fifth vessel, the Wila, which was
boarded by Iranian forces near the Strait of Hormuz on
Wednesday, is owned by Bandit Shipping and controlled by
Greece-based IMS SA.
Vienna, Palermo and IMS did not immediately reply to requests
for comment sent outside normal office hours.
News that the Iranian cargoes were en route to the United States
was first reported on Thursday by the Wall Street Journal.
Tensions between Iran and the United States increased last year
following a series of incidents involving shipping in and near
the Middle East Gulf.
In July 2019, Iran briefly seized a British-flagged oil tanker
in the Gulf after Britain seized the Iranian tanker Grace 1,
accused of violating sanctions on Syria.
The United States had issued a warrant for the vessel and Brian
Hook, then the State Department's top Iran official, sent emails
to its captain saying the Trump administration was offering him
several million dollars to steer the tanker to a country that
would impound it on behalf of Washington. The attempt failed,
and the oil was eventually sold to the Assad government in
Syria.
(Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom, Tim Gardner and
Phillip Stewart in Washington, Luc Cohen in New York and Humeyra
Pamuk in Turkey; Writing by Simon Webb; Editing by Daniel
Wallis)
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