US seeks to seize Iran gasoline shipments heading to Venezuela

| July 3, 2020


Iranian Oil Tanker

This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.

U.S. prosecutors have filed a lawsuit to seize the gasoline aboard four tankers that Iran is currently shipping to Venezuela, the latest attempt to increase pressure on the two sanctioned anti-American allies.

The civil-forfeiture complaint filed in the District of Columbia federal court late on July 1 claims the sale was arranged by an Iranian businessman with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization.

Since September 2018, the IRGC’s elite Quds Force has moved oil through a sanctioned shipping network involving dozens of ship managers, vessels, and facilitators, according to the lawsuit.

“The profits from these activities support the IRGC’s full range of nefarious activities, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, support for terrorism, and a variety of human rights abuses, at home and abroad,” the prosecutors alleged.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations said that any attempt by the United States to prevent Iranian lawful trading with any country of its choosing would be an act of “piracy.”

The four tankers named in the complaint — the Bella, Bering, Pandi, and Luna — are carrying 1.1 million barrels of gasoline, the U.S. prosecutors said.

The Justice Department said on July 2 that U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued a warrant to seize all the gasoline on the vessels, “based on a probable cause showing of forfeitability.”

Are the Venezuelans prepared to sink another gunboat while ramming a cruse liner?

Read the entire article here: American Military News

Category: Iran

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Jeff LPH 3, 63-66

FIRST; I got on the PC OILY to get this in.

5th/77th FA

I guess I need the spapos seagull to indoctrinate err err, ‘splain to me why 2 countries that used to have thriving economies and happy citizens are now being controlled and are nothing but sh^tholes.

Where’s the Monroe Doctrine now that it is needed? And the dickhead running Venezuela? A useful idiot who will be beheaded by the mooslems when they and the Ruskies take over. Good place to launch attacks upon the Great Satan that they perceive us to be.

Ex-PH2

The real question, GunBunny, is why has Venezuela’s entire oil industry been shut down? Well, Maduro is an incompeten ass, who is now allowing foreign countries to take over and run Venezuela’s oil business.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/08/world/americas/venezuela-oil-maduro.html

CARACAS, Venezuela — After decades of dominating its oil industry, the Venezuelan government is quietly surrendering control to foreign companies in a desperate bid to keep the economy afloat and hold on to power.

The opening is a startling reversal for Venezuela, breaking decades of state command over its crude reserves, the world’s biggest.

The government’s power and legitimacy have always rested on its ability to control its oil fields — the backbone of the country’s economy — and use their profits for the benefit of its people.

But the nation’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, in his struggle to retain his grip over a country in its seventh year of a crippling economic crisis, is giving up policies that once were central to its socialist-inspired revolution. – article

So Venezuelans, who voted him into power, will never get rid of him unless he kicks the bucket and they will never be able to regain control of their own country unless they go to war with those foreign powers.

5th/77th FA

Yes’sum, my sarcastic point eggs zactly. In the grand scheme of things it hasn’t been that long since Venezuela had one of the largest economies in the world, a thriving middle class, tourism, industrial trade and commerce. Now they’re using their money for toilet paper and have eaten their zoo animals. Our own Graybeard has written of people who knows and worked with down there.

And to think, we have our own elected officials that are pushing us in that same direction. Homeboy needs to read up on what the mooslems and ruskies have historically done to “enemies of the state.”

Vote your way in and shoot your way out. spapos coulda showed ’em how to do it right…this time!

11B-Mailclerk

Good old Marxist thinking and doing made paupers of the residents of South America’s richest nation.

From wealth to poverty in one generation.

Again.

Again, we see the handiwork of “socialism” and the Marxist folks who promise it will be better this time.

Roh-Dog

If you see something that looks like a star
And it’s shooting up out of the ground
And your head is spinning from a loud guitar

And you just can’t escape from the sound
Don’t worry too much, it’ll happen to you
We were children once, playing with toys

https://youtu.be/R8M8R835Ck4

These f*cksticks should remember who commands the largest military on the face of this planet and just how much he dislikes both regimes.

David

A fairly inapt comparison since the ‘high-heeled boys’ in the song work for an unscrupulous loan shark.

Roh-Dog

Ok bro, I’ll try so much harder to be less ‘fairly inapt’ just after I grab a dictionary and a f*ck to give about your opinion because I didn’t ask you.
Have a Happy 4th.

11B-Mailclerk

Quattro de Julio!

Happy Independence Day!

Hondo

Actually, David, I believe most music critics consider the tune satirical commentary concerning the early-1970s music industry vice being about loan sharking or other criminal activity. That would make the song’s “heavy” a music industry exec vice a loan shark.

26Limabeans

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
One of my favorites.

5th/77th FA

Y’all need to pay closer attention to Hondo’s weekend musical posts. He featured this tune on 27 June. For shame!

https://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=101446

Ret_25X

you know, these two nations deserve each other. Both are oil exporters and gasoline importers.

Iran had a gasoline shortage as recently as 6 months ago, but somehow has gasoline to ship.

Venezuela has a huge gasoline production capacity, but its shut down.

In the hands of sane people Venezuela would be exporting gasoline to Iran.

Ahhhh the wonderful world of Marx. Whether it is;
racial, religious, class, or even gender, it always comes up coo coo for cocoa puffs.

Mason

Venezuela. Beautiful tropical paradise, world’s largest reserves of crude oil, and gas is cheaper than water. Should be one of the wealthiest, nicest places in the world! Instead, socialism has run it into the toilet.

26Limabeans

Be a shame they should spill that stuff.
Best to just burn it in place out at sea.