US tanker unloads suspected Iranian oil near Texas despite Tehran threats

An oil tanker long suspected of carrying sanctioned Iranian crude oil offloaded its cargo near Texas, tracking data showed, even as Tehran has threatened to target shipping in the Persian Gulf over it.

Ship-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed on Sunday that the Marshall Islands-flagged Suez Rajan began the hourslong ship-to-ship transfer of its oil to another tanker, the MR Euphrates, near Galveston, some 70 kilometres (45 miles) southeast of Houston.

The fate of the cargo aboard the Suez Rajan has become mired in the wider tensions between the US and the Islamic Republic, even as Tehran and Washington work toward a trade of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets in South Korea for the release of five Iranian-Americans held in Tehran.

Iran has been trying to evade sanctions and continue selling its oil abroad, while the US and its allies have been seizing cargoes since 2019 after the country’s nuclear deal allowing the trade collapsed.

Already, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has warned that those involved in offloading the Suez Rajan’s cargo “should expect to be struck back.”

The US Navy has increased its presence steadily in recent weeks in the Mideast, sending the troop-and-aircraft-carrying USS Bataan through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days and considering putting armed personnel on commercial ships travelling through the strait to stop Iran from seizing additional ships.

The Los Angeles-based private equity firm Oaktree Capital Management, which owned the vessel up until late May, repeatedly declined to comment publicly. Greek firm Empire Navigation, which operates the vessel, did not respond to requests for comment. An email sent to Alma Maritime Ltd., the ship’s new owner, bounced back and a telephone number listed in its name rang unanswered.

Suez Rajan saga

The saga over the Suez Rajan began in February 2022, when the group United Against Nuclear Iran said it suspected the tanker carried oil from Iran’s Khargh Island, its main oil distribution terminal in the Persian Gulf.

For months, the ship sat in the South China Sea off the northeast coast of Singapore before suddenly sailing for the Gulf of Mexico without explanation. Analysts believe the vessel’s cargo likely has been seized by American officials, though there still were no public court documents early Sunday involving the Suez Rajan.

In the meantime, Iran has seized two tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, including one with cargo for US oil major Chevron Corp.

In July, the top commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s naval arm threatened further action against anyone offloading the Suez Rajan, with state media linking the recent seizures to the cargo’s fate.

“We hereby declare that we would hold any oil company that sought to unload our crude from the vessel responsible and we also hold America responsible,” Rear Adm. Alireza Tangsiri said at the time.

“The era of hit and run is over, and if they hit, they should expect to be struck back,” he added.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment over the offloading of the Suez Rajan. The state-run IRNA news agency acknowledged this AP story but did not elaborate. Western-backed naval organisations in the Persian Gulf in recent days also warned of an increased risk of ship seizures from Iran around the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers saw it regain the ability to sell oil openly on the international market. But in 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the accord and re-imposed American sanctions. That slammed the door on much of Iran’s lucrative crude oil trade, a major engine for its economy and its government. It also began a cat-and-mouse hunt for Iranian oil cargo — as well as a series of escalating attacks attributed to Iran since 2019.