The United States will take every action it can to prevent Iranian tankers from delivering oil to Syria, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Pompeo warned the international community against helping ships that are believed to be carrying illicit crude oil from Iran in breach of U.S. sanctions.
Pompeo's comments followed reports that an Iranian tanker called the Bonita Queen was headed to Syria to deliver crude oil.
"We've made clear anyone who touches it, anyone who supports it, anyone who allows a ship to dock, is at risk of receiving sanctions from the United States of America. So if that ship again heads to Syria, we'll take every action we can consistent with those sanctions to prevent them," CNN cited the Secretary of State as saying.
A source at the company Tanker Tracker, which tracks top oil exports based on satellite technology, said that the Bonita Queen was sailing toward Syria carrying about 600,000 barrels of oil.
The source said Syria illegally receives about 3 million barrels of crude oil a month shipped from abroad.
The Bonita Queen does not fly the Iranian flag, but it is managed by the same company as a tanker now called the Adrian Darya 1, formerly known as the Grace 1.
