worldUpdated: Aug 17, 2020 15:54 ISTFour tankers seized by the U.S. while en route to Venezuela were carrying cargoes of gasoline loaded in Iran, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said. His acknowledgment is the first public statement by an Iranian official that the ships were transporting fuel from Iran when the U.S. confiscated them last week. The seizure was an unprecedented step by Washington and could destabilize global oil shipments if Iran retaliates. “The fuel was Iranian, but it had been sold to Venezuela and its payment had been cleared.”Retaliatory action by Iran could disrupt energy markets if Tehran interferes with international oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical choke point for oil shipments. The tankers were transporting 1.1 million barrels of petroleum, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement Friday.

Source: Hindustan Times August 17, 2020 10:27 UTC