Tehran [Iran], December 12 (ANI): Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday accused the United States of seeking “territorial expansionism” in parts of Latin America, linking the allegation to what he called global resistance against foreign pressure.
In a post on X, Khamenei wrote, “Withstanding enemy pressures is Resistance,” saying such pressure can take various forms — from territorial ambitions to attempts to alter cultural, religious or social identities. He specifically referenced what he described as increased U.S. pressure across South America, including Venezuela.
The remarks came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Washington had seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said, “As you probably know, we’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela. A large tanker, very large. Largest one ever seized, actually.”
According to CNN, the vessel — named Skipper and previously known as Adisa — was carrying Venezuelan crude and had been sanctioned by the U.S. in 2022 for allegedly facilitating oil trades on behalf of Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force. U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi confirmed the seizure, saying the ship was transporting “sanctioned oil” from Venezuela and Iran.
“Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of Defense, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran,” Bondi wrote on X, sharing unclassified images of the operation. She said the tanker had long been sanctioned for involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organisations and that investigations to prevent sanctioned oil transport continue.
CNN reported the operation forms part of a broader U.S. campaign to pressure Venezuela, which has included sending thousands of troops and a carrier strike group to the Caribbean, targeting suspected drug vessels and issuing repeated warnings to President Nicolás Maduro. (ANI)
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