US Sells Iranian Crude Seized En Route to Venezuela

An American flag waves outside the U.S. Department of Justice Building in Washington, on Dec. 2, 2020. Tom Brenner/Reuters

The Justice Department has announced the sale of around 1.1 million barrels of Iranian crude oil seized by the U.S. Navy from four foreign-flagged tankers that were en route to Venezuela.

The crude was the property of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the United States and several other countries have designated a foreign terrorist organization, with the seizure taking place on an undisclosed date in or around the Arabian Sea.