The US filed a lawsuit to seize the gasoline aboard four tankers that Iran is trying to ship to Venezuela. To increase economic pressure on the two US foes, this is the latest attempt by the Trump administration.
The lawsuit filed late on Wednesday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. It was followed on by a warrant issued by US District Judge James Boasberg for the seizure of the more than 1.1 million barrels of gasoline in the four vessels. The gasoline could likely only be seized by US authorities if the tankers enter US territorial waters, legal sources said. However, the actions could help push other countries to cooperate in seizing the fuel. Gasoline shortages in Venezuela have grown acute due to US sanctions, and the country has undergone an economic collapse.
The US has increasingly been using civil forfeiture to stop illicit trade involving Iran and Venezuela. The lawsuit said profits from the shipments support the 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 vessels carrying Iranian gasoline engaged in ship-to-ship transfers to evade sanctions.
