Ebrahim Rezaei made some remarks in an interview on Tuesday over the US' attempt to stop Iranian oil tankers that sail towards Valenzuela.
“Iran's oil export to Valenzuela was a strategic failure for the US," said the representative of Bushehr in the Parliament, adding that, unlike previous years, the country is exporting its oil with Iran-flagged tankers.
He went on to condemn the aggressive act of a US court that ordered the seizure of Iranian oil tankers to Venezuela, insisting that “The act is maritime piracy and an international law violation.”
The MP called on government and Parliament to use some legal tools to retaliate this US bullying, referring to Iran's retaliation after the UK illegally seized supertanker Grace 1 in the Strait of Gibraltar on the pretext that it had been suspected of carrying crude to Syria.
“Iran has some plans in hand to retaliate against possible US piracy,” he said, noting that under this plan, any US action against an Iranian tanker or ship would be faced with a firm and immediate response by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
US federal prosecutors are seeking to seize four tankers that are reportedly sailing towards Venezuela with gasoline supplied by Iran. This is the latest attempt to disrupt ever-closer trade ties between the two heavily-sanctioned anti-US allies. US had earlier imposed sanctions against captains of five oil tankers that had delivered fuel to Venezuela last month.
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