US to seize Iranian fuel aboard tankers

United States authorities have moved to seize the cargo of four oil tankers carrying gasoline and fuel products from Iran to Venezuela, escalating a sanctions battle with two regimes the US opposes and a contest over Iranian oil shipments that allegedly finance its nuclear programme. A US judge in Washington signed a seizure warrant yesterday for Venezuelabound shipments aboard four tankers – the Bella, Bering, Pandi and Luna – whose deliveries were disrupted.