Trump Regime Maritime Piracy

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) defines maritime piracy, calling it:

"(a) any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft, and directed:

(i) on the high seas, against another ship or aircraft, or against persons or property on board such ship or aircraft;

(ii) against a ship, aircraft, persons or property in a place outside the jurisdiction of any State;

(b) any act of voluntary participation in the operation of a ship or of an aircraft with knowledge of facts making it a pirate ship or aircraft;

(c) any act of inciting or of intentionally facilitating an act described in subparagraph (a) or (b)."

Under UNCLOS, all nations are mandated to act against maritime piracy. 

They have universal jurisdiction on the high seas to seize pirated vessels, arrest responsible parties, and detain them for prosecution.

On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump regime "for the first time confiscated cargo in vessels allegedly loaded with Iran fuel," adding:

The four vessels—Luna, Pandi, Bering and Bella…"are now en route to Houston," according to an unnamed US official.

Until Friday, there were no official statement from Washington or Tehran about the reported US maritime piracy. That changed. See below.

The four Iranian tankers were reportedly carrying gasoline to Venezuela, the legal right of both countries under UNCLOS and other international law.

Trump regime sanctions on both countries have no legal validity.

Nations observing them are in breach of the UN Charter.

On July 2, the Trump regime's Justice Department filed a "forfeiture complaint and warrant…in US District Court for the District of Columbia."

It unjustifiably claimed that fuel aboard four Iranian tankers en route to Venezuela "are subject to forfeiture based on the terrorism forfeiture statute (sic)."

In deference to Israel and its own interests, the Trump regime falsely designated Iran's IRGC a terrorist organization in April 2019.

At the time it defied reality, falsely claiming that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) "regularly threatens freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf (sic), while its Aerospace Force directs the country's ballistic missile program in defiance of Security Council resolutions (sic)."

Trump regime hardliners falsely accused Tehran of supporting regional terrorist groups, adding: 

"Since 1979, Iran has made it a policy of state to actively direct, facilitate, and carry out terrorist activity globally (sic)" – a US, NATO, Israeli specialty, polar opposite how the Islamic Republic operates.

Documents the Trump regime filed in US district court falsely claimed the following:

Profits from Iranian oil sales "support the IRGC's full range of nefarious activities (sic), including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery (sic), support for terrorism (sic), and a variety of human rights abuses at home and abroad (sic)."

The above accusations bear no relation to reality. Yet a US district court judge accepted the falsified claims in issuing a forfeiture warrant last month.

If US seizures of Iranian tankers occurred as reported as part of unlawful Trump regime "maximum pressure" on the country, an appropriate response will be highly likely by its government.

Hostile Trump regime actions against Iran, Venezuela, China, and other nations increase the risk of greater wars than already.

If Iran seizes US tankers in response to Trump regime high seas confiscation of the Luna, Pandi, Bering and Bella, will military confrontation between both countries be more likely?

Trailing Biden in polls significantly ahead of the November 3 presidential election, will Trump initiate conflict over an invented Iranian threat that doesn't exist in hopes of improving his chance for a second term?

Is an October surprise confrontation with Iran coming — and/or perhaps confronting China in the Taiwan Strait?

False flags occurred numerous times in US history since the mid-19th century.

They're pretexts for advancing its imperial aims.

All nations the US doesn't control are on its target list for regime change.

Notably they include China, Russia, Iran, and other nations rich in natural resources.

Trump continues US preemptive wars he inherited. He's yet to launch one of his own.

In an attempt to revive his faltering reelection campaign, will he initiate a false flag incident as a pretext for confrontation.

Post-9/11, the mother of all US false flags, GW Bush's approval rating rose from around 50 to 85% in a few days, peaking at 90% on September 21?

Do Trump strategists have a similar scheme in mind, hoping he'll get an approval boost to defeat Biden and gain a second term?

A Final Comment

On Friday, Trump's Justice Department claimed the "seizure of over one million barrels of Iranian gasoline intended for" Venezuela.

Iran's envoy to the Bolivarian Republic Hojjat Soltani denied that four Islamic Republic vessels carrying fuel to Venezuela were seized by the Trump regime, tweeting:

The claim is "another lie and psychological war from the US imperialism's propaganda machine," adding:

"Neither are the vessels Iranian, nor have their owners or flags anything to do with Iran."

VISIT MY WEBSITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My two Wall Street books are timely reading:

"How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion, and Class War"

https://www.claritypress.com/product/how-wall-street-fleeces-america/

"Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity"

https://www.claritypress.com/product/banker-occupation-waging-financial-war-on-humanity/