{"id":2027632,"date":"2023-09-11T03:28:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-11T07:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-confirms-it-seized-nearly-1-million-barrels-of-iranian-oil-allegedly-en-route-to-china\/"},"modified":"2023-09-11T03:31:59","modified_gmt":"2023-09-11T07:31:59","slug":"us-confirms-it-seized-nearly-1-million-barrels-of-iranian-oil-allegedly-en-route-to-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-confirms-it-seized-nearly-1-million-barrels-of-iranian-oil-allegedly-en-route-to-china\/","title":{"rendered":"US seizes almost 1M barrels of Iranian oil bound for China."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fus-confirms-it-seized-nearly-1-million-barrels-of-iranian-oil-allegedly-en-route-to-china%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2027632&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>The\u200b U.S. government has confirmed that it seized nearly a million\u2064 barrels of\u200c crude oil \u2063from \u2063Iran\u2064 that was allegedly bound \u2063for China.<\/p>\n<p>The Justice Department (DOJ) confirmed on Sept. 8 that in\u2063 April, the United States seized a \u200dshipment of crude oil from the Islamic Revolutionary \u200dGuard Corps (IRGC), a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/palestinian-terrorists-issue-death-threat-on-american-reformer-as-biden-admin-seeks-closer-ties\/\" title=\"Palestinian Terrorists Issue Death Threat on American Reformer as Biden Admin Seeks Closer Ties\">designated foreign terrorist organization<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In confirming the confiscation, the department also announced its first criminal\u200b resolution\u2064 involving the illicit \u2062sale and \u200btransport of Iranian oil, which is a violation of U.S. sanctions.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"border-comp-divider mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\" id=\"in_article_related_stories\">\n<div class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/us-navy-stops-iranian-attempt-to-seize-2-oil-tankers-after-shots-fired-5375637\">US Navy Stops Iranian Attempts to Seize 2 Oil Tankers in Gulf of Oman<\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">7\/5\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/us-navy-stops-iranian-attempt-to-seize-2-oil-tankers-after-shots-fired-5375637\"><\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opinion\/us-and-allies-should-seize-more-iranian-oil-5231181\">US\u200c and Allies Should \u2064Seize\u2062 More Iranian \u2064Oil<\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">5\/1\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opinion\/us-and-allies-should-seize-more-iranian-oil-5231181\"><\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>      &#8220;This \u2064is the first-ever\u2062 criminal resolution involving\u2063 a company that violated sanctions by\u200d facilitating the illicit sale\u200d and transport of Iranian oil\u200c and comes\u2064 in concert with a successful seizure of over\u2063 980,000 barrels of contraband \u2063crude oil,&#8221; the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/justice-department-announces-first-criminal-resolution-involving-illicit-sale-and-transport\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announcement<\/a> reads.\n    <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>US Seizes Sanctioned Oil<\/h2>\n<p>Unsealed court documents show that in April, the United States seized\u200c from the tanker Suez Rajan contraband cargo \u2062that \u200bwas allegedly being sold by the IRGC to China.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>On April 19, the vessel&#8217;s owner, \u200dSuez \u200bRajan Ltd., pleaded guilty to conspiring\u200b to violate the International Emergency Economic \u200dPowers Act (IEEPA) in smuggling \u200dthe sanctioned Iranian crude\u2063 oil. Under a plea agreement, the company agreed to pay a $2.4 million \u2064fine and face three years of corporate probation.<\/p>\n<p>Greek shipper Empire Navigation, the operating company of the Suez \u200bRajan, agreed to cooperate and \u2064transport\u2064 the Iranian oil to the United States at its own \u200bexpense,\u200b a task that has\u200b since been \u200ccompleted.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode post-related-videos\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>      \u200c \u2063    &#8220;The \u2062contraband cargo is now the subject of a \u200dcivil forfeiture action\u2063 in the U.S. District Court\u2062 for the District\u2063 of Columbia,&#8221;\u200d the DOJ stated. &#8220;The United \u2063States\u2019 forfeiture complaint alleges that the oil\u200d aboard the vessel is subject \u2064to forfeiture based \u2063on \u200bU.S. terrorism and money laundering \u200cstatutes.&#8221;<br \/>\n\u200d\n    <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Hiding Oil&#8217;s Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The U.S. Treasury has stated that \u2064Iran\u2019s\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-confirms-it-seized-nearly-1-million-barrels-of-iranian-oil-allegedly-en-route-to-china\/\" title=\"US seizes almost 1M barrels of Iranian oil bound for China.\">oil smuggling revenue supports<\/a> the Quds Force, an elite unit within \u200bthe IRGC that\u200b operates across the Middle East.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The complaint accuses\u2064 several groups linked to Iran\u2019s IRGC and the Quds Force of secretly selling and shipping Iranian\u2063 oil to China.<\/p>\n<p>The prosecution \u2062relied\u2063 on \u2062satellite images, as well as \u2062documents, to allege \u200dthat\u200d the \u2064Suez \u200cRajan attempted to disguise its acquisition of Iranian crude \u2062oil from one tanker by falsely claiming that it \u2064received the oil from\u2063 a different tanker.<\/p>\n<p>They allegedly\u2064 hid the oil&#8217;s \u2062origin through methods\u2064 including ship-to-ship transfers, \u200bas well as masking the locations\u200b and identities of the \u200dvessels\u2064 involved \u2064via false reporting and false \u2062documents.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint also alleged that the vessel&#8217;s charterer used the U.S.\u200b financial system to facilitate the\u2063 transportation\u200d of the oil.<\/p>\n<p>The court documents\u2063 allege that\u2063 &#8220;profits from \u2063oil sales support the IRGC\u2019s full range \u200cof malign activities, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of \u200cdelivery, support for terrorism\u2062 and\u2062 both domestic and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-confirms-it-seized-iranian-oil-allegedly-en-route-to-china\/\" title=\"US seizes Iranian oil, suspected for China.\">international human rights abuses<\/a>,&#8221; according to\u200c the DOJ.<\/p>\n<p>For months, the\u200b tanker sat in the \u200cSouth\u2064 China Sea near Singapore&#8217;s northeast coast, before \u2063sailing for the Texas\u2063 coast. The vessel transferred its cargo to another \u200btanker, which released its \u2062oil \u200bin Houston in recent days.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>      At\u200c the time, U.S. authorities wouldn&#8217;t \u200cconfirm that they were seizing the cargo or that the vessel\u2064 was en route\u200c to the United States. But the DOJ on Sept.\u200b 8 confirmed that the U.S. government had seized the oil.\n    <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Iran Seizes Tankers<\/h2>\n<p>Shortly after the Suez Rajan headed to the United States, Iran seized two tankers in late April\u2014the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/iran-seizes-oil-tanker-headed-for-texas-us-navy-5225397\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Advantage Sweet<\/a>, flying the Marshall Islands flag and heading\u2064 toward the\u2063 United States\u200c in the Gulf\u2064 of Oman, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/irans-revolutionary-guard-seizes-tanker-in-strait-of-hormuz-5238801\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Niovi<\/a>, owned by Greece traveling to\u2063 the United Arab Emirates&#8217;s\u200b Fujairah from Dubai. In\u2063 response, the U.S. Navy condemned \u200bIran\u200b for \u2062its &#8220;continued harassment of vessels and interference with navigational rights in regional waters.&#8221;<br \/>\n  \u2063\n    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>The U.S. military in early July stated that\u2062 it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/us-navy-stops-iranian-attempt-to-seize-2-oil-tankers-after-shots-fired-5375637\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">stopped\u200c two more Iranian attempts<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-navy-thwarts-irans-attempt-to-seize-oil-tankers-after-american-managed-ship-fired-upon\/\" title=\"US Navy stops Iran's oil tanker seizure after attack on American-managed ship.\">seize commercial tankers<\/a>\u2063 in the Gulf of Oman.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>That same month, the top comman<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>the seizure, the DOJ stated that the oil was intended for the IRGC&#8217;s illicit activities and not for the Iranian people. The action is part of the U.S. government&#8217;s efforts to disrupt Iran&#8217;s support for terrorism and its illicit activities. The seized oil is estimated to be worth around $50 million.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":183,"featured_media":2027633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2027632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/183"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2027632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2027633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2027632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2027632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2027632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}