PRESS STATEMENT
MORGAN ORTAGUS, DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON
AUGUST 14, 2020
Today, the Department of Justice announced the successful seizure of over one million barrels of Iranian gasoline intended for the illegitimate Maduro regime in Venezuela. The proceeds from these shipments would have allegedly benefitted Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Our diplomacy, led by Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook, was able to both halt these shipments and assist the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security in executing a U.S. seizure order for the gasoline cargo issued on July 2, 2020. We note that the proceeds from the Iranian gasoline, if successfully forfeited in U.S. courts, could now support the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund instead of those engaging in terrorism, like the IRGC.
We are seeing more and more global shipping fleets avoiding the Iran-Venezuela trade due to our sanctions implementation and enforcement efforts. The United States remains committed to our maximum pressure campaigns against the Iranian and Maduro regimes.