Authorities in Iran have confiscated the American cargo of an oil tanker seized last year after US-led sanctions blocked the entry of medication into the country, the judiciary said on Wednesday.
Advantage Sweet, a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel, was seized in April 2023 while sailing in the Gulf of Oman, a primary route in the oil industry.
The ship chartered by Chevron Corp had acquired oil from Kuwait and was headed for Texas before it was seized, according to a spokesperson for Advantage Tankers.
Mizan Online, Iran’s judiciary, said on Wednesday a court in Tehran had ordered the seizure of the cargo worth more than $50 million.
The judiciary said the seizure was due to retaliation against US and Western sanctions, “which led to the prevention of the sale of drugs needed for epidermolysis bullosa patients.”
Iran has come under severe US sanctions since Washington’s withdrawal in 2018 from a nuclear deal.
A report from the United Nations in 2021 declared that “over-compliance” with the sanctions had affected people with epidermolysis bullosa, a life-threatening ski condition which results in severe wounds.
The report comes following a halt in shipments to Iran from a Swedish bandage company that offered effective treatment for the condition, according to the UN.
The US military said in January that Iran was “holding five ships and over 90 crew members hostage from vessels seized nearly a year ago.”
