Talking to reporters on Wednesday, on the sideline of a cabinet meeting, Mahmoud Vaezi rejected the US claims, noting "Oil is being traded in the international waters ... we do not follow up on oil that we have sold and received its payment."
In a statement on Friday, August 14, the US Justice Department claimed it has seized Iranian fuel from four tankers that were bound for Venezuela.
The Wall Street Journal had on Thursday, August 15 cited US officials as saying that the US government had for the first time seized vessels allegedly carrying Iranian gasoline to Venezuela. It said the US had recently seized four vessels, called Luna, Pandi, Bering, and Bella, on the high seas and they were being transferred to Houston, Texas.
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