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Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman: "The US threat is an illegal and blatant act"

18 May 2020 14:00 (UTC +04:00)

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi condemned the US’ threats against free trade, warning that any seizure of Iranian tankers will be retaliated, APA's Tehran bureau reports.

"Free trade between independent states is legitimate, and what is illegal is interference in these relations and the US is standing at the forefront of that. Trump's America is looking for a kind of international anarchism that is an alarm for the whole world to defend the legacy of multilateralism under the UN Charter,” Mousavi said in his weekly presser on Monday.

"The US threat is an illegal and blatant act, and if they do something, we will retaliate,” he said, adding that the US cannot force other countries to abandon trade with a state that it dislikes.

“These vessels are laden with fuel and destined for Venezuela. I’m not aware of their exact location now. The tankers have been dispatched officially and legally and there is no barrier for them. We hope that America would not commit any stupid act, otherwise, it will receive our strong response.”

Unconfirmed reports and tanker monitoring groups said at least five Iranian-flagged tankers are transporting fuel to Venezuela through the Atlantic Ocean despite US sanctions targeting both Tehran and Caracas.