Photo taken on Oct. 13, 2019 shows the damaged Iranian oil tanker SABITI in the Red Sea. (Iranian Ministry of Petroleum/Handout via Xinhua)
"Neither the four ships nor the flag was Iranian. The whole story is a lie," Iranian President Rouhani said Saturtday.
TEHRAN, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. announcement of seizing four Iranian oil tankers is a "lie," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday.
"Neither the ships nor the flag was Iranian. The whole story is a lie," Rouhani was quoted by semi official news agency ISNA as stating.
Washington's claim that about 1.116 million barrels of Iran's petroleum were seized was all about "escaping from the humiliation" of its failure in an anti-Iran resolution at the UN Security Council, the Iranian president said during a briefing session of the Iranian COVID-19 Task Force.
On Friday, the UN Security Council failed to adopt a resolution proposed by the United States which asks for extending the current arms embargo against Iran that is set to expire on Oct. 18.
Shortly afterwards, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the confiscation of Iranian fuel from four tankers bound for Venezuela. ■