Washington confiscated two Iranian missiles on their way to the Houthis
English - Saturday 31 October 2020 الساعة 05:24 pm
NewsYemen, agencies:
The United States announced that it seized two Iranian missiles that were previously seized while trying to smuggle them into the Houthi militia - Iran's arm in Yemen.
It also announced the sale of 1.1 million barrels of Iranian oil that it had previously seized heading to Venezuela, in the latest move by President Donald Trump's administration to increase pressure on Tehran less than a week before the presidential elections.
This came within the civilian confiscation cases brought by the US Department of Justice regarding plans by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to secretly ship weapons to Yemen and fuel to Venezuela.
In parallel, the Treasury and Foreign Affairs ministries together imposed sanctions on 11 entities and individuals for their involvement in buying and selling Iranian petrochemical materials.
Last February, a US Navy warship confiscated Iranian-made weapons, including more than 150 anti-tank guided missiles and three surface-to-air missiles, after it was seized on a dhow in the Arabian Sea while trying to smuggle it to the Houthis in Yemen.
The moves against Iran come after US intelligence officials accused Iranian hackers earlier this month of seeking to threaten some American voters by sending out fraudulent e-mails appearing to be from the pro-Trump group, the Brad Boys.
John Demers, assistant attorney for national security affairs, said Thursday that the US government had sold and delivered 1.1 million barrels of Iranian fuel that was bound for Venezuela after seizing it earlier in the year.
According to the complaint, the fuel originates are companies linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and that shipping agencies have taken steps to hide the owner.
Two ships carrying fuel, Euroforce, which flies the flag of Liberia, and Maersk Progress, which flies the Singapore flag, have struggled to unload the two shipments and have changed course several times over the past weeks.
