US Seizes “Largest Ever” Haul Of Iranian Missiles & Oil: ‘Enough For A Large Military Force’

USSA News ^ | 10/30/2020 | Tyler Durden

[SeekAndFind]

On Thursday the United States revealed it had previously seized a major shipment of Iranian missiles bound for Yemen, and separately that it seized and later sold 1.1 million barrels of Iranian fuel bound for Venezuela.

Reports describe the seizer was accomplished by two US warships in regional waters that apprehended a total of 171 guided anti-tank missiles, eight surface-to-air missiles, and associated equipment, according to a statement by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers.

"These actions represent the government’s largest-ever forfeitures actions for fuel and weapons shipments from Iran," the Justice Department said.

Also on Thursday the Treasury Department and State Department slapped sanctions on eleven different entities connected to the Iranian fuel shipments and sales, and sanctions-busting operations.

The DOJ identified that it as top Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) operatives behind the clandestine shipments of fuel and weapons.

The 1.1 barrels of fuel had been previously reported as seized by US authorities in August. Initially diverted to Houston, some of it was offloaded in New York. The US has now confirmed it sold the petroleum from four tankers at a price of over $40 million.

"We estimate that in excess of $40 million will be recouped by the United States related to the sale of petroleum from those four vessels," acting US attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin the told reporters.

According to AFP, Sherwin indicated much of the proceeds from the sale would go to a US fund for victims of "state-sponsored terrorism". The report details:

US courts have ordered Iran's clerical regime to pay damages over attacks, most recently in July when a judge told Tehran to pay $879.1 million over a 1996 bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 US airmen.

Iran denies responsibility and states it has no intention of paying, saying the United States should instead compensate for past episodes including its support of Saddam Hussein in the Iran-Iraq War.

Image of prior intercepted Iranian weapons shipment seized by US Navy, via Stripes.

As for the weaponry seized, US statements said it was enough "for a large military force" according to Fox:

Authorities also said the Navy had confiscated other weapons components and enough blasting caps to "approximately" supply the U.S. military forces for a year, "leading law enforcement to believe these blasting caps were intended for a large military force."

Days ahead of the US election, there's little doubt that Tehran is actively rooting for Joe Biden to take the White House, given Trump's maximum pressure campaign is crippling the Iranian economy and fast putting the two sides on a war footing, especially after the January assassination of IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. Biden has promised he'll attempted to bring the US back into the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal.

A very strange non-story ratcheting things up with Iran as we go into an election. FBI says nothing is going on here, but golly he has Facebook friends in the Middle East...https://t.co/8nFIjuB49c — Jack Murphy (@JackMurphyRGR) October 30, 2020

Meanwhile Iran and Venezuela have pledged deepening cooperation, while the US has vowed to "destroy" and missiles transferred to the Maduro regime.

[digger48]

Just repossessing what we paid for

[Fungi]

Who made the missiles, and from whom were they purchased from?

[buwaya]

Probably Chinese.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Who made the missiles, and from whom were they purchased from?

Since they came from Iran, I would say they were developed with Chinese and North Korean support.

[thegagline]

If the weapons were made in China, we should gift them to Taiwan.

[TigersEye]

Venezuela imports oil from Iran!? LOL

That country is a Democrat wet dream.

[Ouchthatonehurt]

Venezuela imports oil from Iran!?
Like selling ice to eskimos.

[SeekAndFind]

It’s sad that a country that has one of the world’s largest OIL reserves has to import oil...

[matthew fuller]

Looks like Ginsu to me.

[ThunderSleeps]

Want to know what socialist policies can do for you? Venezuela has more oil reserves than Saudi Arabia. Yet they were desperately trying to import fuel from Iran. That’s what socialist policies do: destroy a society so thoroughly that things that should be easy are impossible.

[noiseman]

”Who made the missiles, and from whom were they purchased from?”

The one that’s fully assembled in the photo looks Russian to me.

[treetopsandroofs]

“Just repossessing what we paid for”

“But, but, but.... it was their money anyway,” quoth the Hussein Heads loyal to our foreign and domestic enemies.

[immadashell]

Iran denies responsibility and states it has no intention of paying, saying the United States should instead compensate for past episodes including its support of Saddam Hussein in the Iran-Iraq War.

Maybe we will but not until Iran compensates us for kidnapping our embassy staff and holding them hostage for more than a year. We’ll just continue to pick off their ships and gift the cargo to our allies.

[Candor7]

I’ll take a dozen ATMs for down range.

[Nachoman]

I’m not saying this is wrong, but I’ve always wondered, by what authority are we able to seize cargo from ships of a sovereign nation?

[Marchmain]

They are on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, maybe that’s part of it?

[preacher]

l8r

[rrrod]

Putin’s head is exploding lol

[joma89]

Nos this is what I call winning! Well done.

JoMa