“Pirates Of The Caribbean” – The United States has seized four Iranian tankers on the high seas, U.S. officials said on Thursday (14). The tankers were allegedly carrying Iranian oil in violation of U.S. sanctions. The four tankers are currently en route to a major oil port in Houston, Texas.
The U.S. seizure of the Iranian tankers was reportedly motivated by the arrival of five Iranian tankers earlier this year carrying 1.5 million barrels of gasoline to Venezuela, which is also under restrictive U.S. economic sanctions.
On Aug. 10, Pakistan seized an Iranian tanker at the port of Karachi at the request of the U.S. government, but since the name of the tanker was never reported, it is unclear whether it is one of the four now en route to Houston.
The Trump administration began imposing strangling economic sanctions on Iran in August 2018, with the goal of reducing the country’s oil exports to zero, while also attempting to cripple other Iranian industries.
