U.S. Oil Seizure Ruling 'For the Benefit of Special Patients'; U.S.: A Pretext for Violating International Laws

Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, emphasized that U.S. sanctions against Iran have never included medicine and do not currently do so. Iranian media reported on March 7 that an international court in Tehran issued a ruling to seize a shipment of American oil for the benefit of patients with butterfly disease. In a complaint reportedly filed by these patients, the lawyer argued that U.S. sanctions have prevented a Swedish company from selling the necessary medicine for treating this disease to the Islamic Republic. In a press conference on the same day, the State Department spokesperson responded to a question from the Persian section of Voice of America, stating that 'our sanctions have always included exceptions for humanitarian supplies.' He named food, medicine, medical supplies and equipment, and agricultural necessities as these exceptions, saying, 'We have never prevented medicine from reaching the people of Iran.' Miller added that this has been the policy of the Biden administration and has been followed since the imposition of sanctions by various U.S. administrations. The tanker 'Advantage Sweet,' flagged by the Marshall Islands and chartered by the American oil company 'Shervan,' was seized by the Islamic Republic's Navy on April 26 under the pretext of confronting an Iranian vessel. The U.S. State Department spokesperson called for the immediate release of the 'Advantage Sweet' by the Iranian government. The seizure of the mentioned tanker seems to be a reaction to the seizure of the 'Suez Rajan' tanker by the U.S., which was carrying Iranian oil and is said to belong to the Revolutionary Guard, and was seized this spring on the grounds that its transport violated U.S. oil sanctions. After months of detention at a Texas port, the U.S. Department of Justice ordered the unloading and sale of that oil in July for the benefit of the families of victims of the Islamic Republic's terrorist operations. In response to the question of why the United States seizes ships carrying Iranian items, the State Department spokesperson said, 'Items that are exempt from sanctions have never been seized, and what has been seized has been done according to U.S. law.' Miller added that the Islamic Republic has illegally seized several vessels operating in Middle Eastern waters and continues its harassing actions. Gita Arian, senior reporter for the Persian section of Voice of America, primarily focuses on foreign policy news. She began her journalism career in 1987 with radio work and joined Voice of America in 2004. Greek owners of the tanker seized by the Islamic Republic: the crew is safe. The U.S. condemned the Islamic Republic's action as a 'seemingly seizure' of the ship. U.S. response to the tanker seizure: Iran should immediately release this ship 'owned by Greece' and its crew. The Islamic Republic claimed to have seized 'an American tanker'; the ship operator: it was carrying oil from Iraq to Turkey. U.S. senators are introducing a bipartisan plan to intensify oil sanctions against the Islamic Republic.