UANI Applauds U.S. Seizure Of Iranian Oil

(New York, N.Y.) — United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) Chairman Senator Joseph I. Lieberman and CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace released the following joint statement today applauding the U.S. Department of Justice’s seizure of more than 500,000 barrels of Iranian oil, which had been carried aboard the Palau-flagged tanker ABYSS (IMO: 9157765). In March 2023, UANI collected and published evidence that oil from Iran’s Bandar Mahshahr was loaded onto ABYSS and transferred to OCEANIA (IMO: 9246633), then owned by Euronav (NYSE:EURN).

“UANI applauds the Justice Department for taking action that denies Tehran more than $25 million in revenues that would have been used to support the regime’s malign behavior. These revenues would have directly supported the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization that arms, trains, and supports proxies targeting U.S. and allied military personnel and actively disrupting lawful commerce.

“The Biden administration has effectively denied Iran $210 million in revenues over the last year that it would have otherwise collected from illicit oil sales, demonstrating its capacity to act with determination against the regime’s sanctions evasion. In the face of surging Iranian-backed aggression, including the deaths of three U.S. servicemembers, we urge the Biden administration to pull out all the stops and fully enforce U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil – the lifeblood of Iran’s state-sponsorship of terrorism.

“More than one million barrels of Iranian oil are exported to China alone every single day. The vessels, owners, and operators facilitating Iran’s sanctions evasion – among others in the maritime industry – and purchasers of illicit cargo should be held accountable. Whenever possible, cargo should be seized, and under no circumstances should oil revenues that would support terrorism be made accessible to the regime.

“UANI tracks all tankers exporting Iranian oil through the use of satellite imagery and calls on the respective maritime players to withdraw their services from these vessels and inform the respective authorities. UANI looks forward to continuing to work with the U.S. government in enforcing American sanctions.”