Biden administration blocking seizure of Iranian oil tankers
The Biden administration is blocking authorities from seizing ships carrying sanctioned Iranian oil.
The Department of Homeland Security says it has been unable to seize tankers carrying sanctioned oil for a year, thanks to “policy limitations” enacted by the Treasury Department. This has contributed to the 35 percent increase in Iranian oil exports over the past year, according to a bipartisan group of lawmakers demanding the Biden administration rectify its contradictory approach, The Washington Free Beacon reported.
“United States sanctions should be enforced to the fullest extent of the law,” a group of 12 senators led by Sen. Joni Ernst (R., Iowa), wrote to President Joe Biden in April.
The bipartisan support for the letter signals that members of both parties are increasingly frustrated by the Biden administration’s approach towards Tehran. Iran has sold nearly $50 billion worth of oil since the Biden administration took office and began relaxing sanctions on the Islamic Republic’s oil trade.
The Biden administration has only imposed eight sanctions on Iran, a significant downswing from the dozens imposed during the Trump administration, according to data reviewed by the Free Beacon. Iran has been selling its oil everywhere from China to Syria and into Latin America.