Despite threats of retaliation from Iran, oil was transferred from seized tanker

Ship-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed the Marshall Islands-flagged Suez Rajan began transferring its oil from ship-to-ship over hours to another tanker, the MR Euphrates, near Galveston, about 70 kilometers (45 miles) southeast of Houston. .

The fate of the cargo aboard the Suez Rajan has been embroiled in the broader tensions between the US and the Islamic Republic, even as Tehran and Washington work to negotiate billions of dollars in Iranian assets frozen in South Korea. for the release of five Iranians. -Americans detained in Tehran. Iran has been trying to evade sanctions and continue to sell its oil abroad, while the United States and its allies have been seizing shipments since 2019 after the country’s nuclear deal allowing the trade collapsed.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has already warned that those involved in unloading the cargo from the Suez Rajan “should expect to be hit back.” The US Navy has steadily increased its presence in the Middle East in recent weeks, sending the troop- and aircraft-carrying USS Bataan through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days and considering putting armed personnel on ships. commercial ships traveling through the strait to prevent Iran from seizing additional ships.

US officials and the owners of Suez Rajan, the Los Angeles-based private equity firm Oaktree Capital Management, did not respond to requests for comment.

The saga over the Suez Rajan began in February 2022, when the group United Against Nuclear Iran said it suspected the tanker was carrying oil from Iran’s Khargh island, its main oil distribution terminal in the Persian Gulf.

For months, the ship lingered in the South China Sea off the northeast coast of Singapore before suddenly sailing into the Gulf of Mexico without explanation. Analysts believe the ship’s cargo was likely seized by US officials, although there were still no public court documents early Sunday involving the Suez Rajan.

Meanwhile, Iran seized two oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, including one with cargo for US oil company Chevron Corp. Media outlets link the recent seizures to the cargo’s destination.

“We hereby declare that we would hold any oil company responsible that tried to unload our crude from the vessel and we also hold the United States responsible,” said the rear admt. Alireza Tangsiri at the time. “The era of hit and run is over, and if they hit, they must expect to be hit back.”

Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment on the discharge from the Suez Rajan. The state news agency IRNA acknowledged this story from the AP, but did not elaborate. Western-backed naval organizations in the Persian Gulf have also warned in recent days of an increased risk of seizures of ships from Iran around the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers saw it regain the ability to openly sell oil on the international market. But in 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal and reimposed US sanctions. That slammed the door on much of Iran’s lucrative crude oil trade, a major engine for its economy and its government. It has also begun a cat-and-mouse hunt for Iranian oil cargo, as well as an escalating series of attacks blamed on Iran since 2019.

The delay in unloading the cargo from the Suez Rajan had also become a political issue for the Biden administration, as the ship had been sitting in the Gulf of Mexico for months, possibly as companies worried about the threat of Iran.

In a letter dated Wednesday, a group of Democratic and Republican US senators asked the White House for an update on what was happening with the ship’s cargo, estimated to be worth about $56 million. They said the money could go to the US State-Sponsored Terrorism Victims Fund, which compensates those affected by the 9/11 attacks, the 1979 Iran hostage crisis and other militant attacks.

“We owe it to these American families to enforce our sanctions,” the letter said.

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, one of the letter’s co-authors, said in a statement Sunday that “no foreign adversary should question the strength of the United States.”

“To ensure this never happens again, the Biden administration must enforce our existing sanctions, stop giving the green light to (Guard) terrorism and hostage ‘diplomacy,’ and end this appeasement-of-a-nation stance. that screams ‘death to America,’” he said.

The US Treasury has said that revenue from Iran’s oil smuggling supports the Quds Force, the Revolutionary Guard’s expeditionary unit that operates throughout the Middle East.

Claire Jungman, chief of staff at United Against Nuclear Iran, hailed the transfer finally going through.

“By depriving the (Guard) of crucial resources, we strike a counterterrorism strike that targets not only American citizens, but also our global allies and partners,” Jungman told the AP.

On Sunday, Iranian state media released video dated Thursday showing the USS Bataan with small Guard speedboats following it as it traveled through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of the world passes. world oil. One part appeared to have been taken from a drone over Bataan, while another claimed the Guard radioed Bataan and threatened to “open fire” on a US helicopter if it entered Iranian airspace.

Commander Rick Chernitzer, a spokesman for the Bahrain-based US Navy 5th Fleet, acknowledged to the AP that the Bataan had transited the strait in recent days. A photograph previously released by the Navy showed F-35 fighter jets providing cover for the Bataan and the USS Carter Hall, an accompanying landing ship.

“The US Navy will continue to fly and navigate where international law allows,” Chernitzer said.