The US Department of Justice said today, Friday, that last April it confiscated an Iranian oil shipment that was on board a tanker operated by a Greek company and headed to China.

The US Department of Justice said in a statement that it "seized the oil tanker, the Suez Rajan, and its cargo of 980,000 barrels of crude oil after it became clear that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was trying to sell this cargo of black gold to China."

She added, "This sale violates US and international sanctions, and accordingly the government has issued a warrant to confiscate this cargo."

According to the statement, “Suez Rajan Limited, which owns the ship, admitted on April 19 to violating the sanctions and was fined $2.5 million.”

The Greek company operating the tanker, Empire Navigation, also agreed to cooperate with the American authorities and ordered its ship, which was then located in Southeast Asia, to sail to the United States to unload its cargo there. The American authorities did not confirm that they had confiscated the cargo or that the tanker was heading to the United State.

The Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Naval Forces, Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri, previously warned against any company unloading the cargo of the "Suez Rajan" oil tanker detained in the United States.

The Greek shipping company admitted to smuggling Iranian crude oil and agreed to pay a fine of $2.4 million, according to US court documents.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency