Iran 'Appears' to Free Tanker, US Sanctions Remain A Mystery (To Bloomberg)
Bloomberg breathlessly reports that Iran 'appears' to have freed an oil tanker seized in 2024, framing it against 'mounting US pressure.' What the article somehow fails to highlight, with all its journalistic prowess, is that Iran's 2024 seizure was a direct, retaliatory response to a year of earlier US-backed seizures of its own oil. For example, in April 2023, the US confiscated the Suez Rajan,
an Iranian tanker carrying 800,000 barrels of oil, leading to explicit threats from Tehran. This wasn't some random act of piracy; it’s a tit-for-tat escalation where the US consistently fires the first shot, yet always gets to play the innocent victim when the fire is returned. It's truly a marvel how mainstream outlets can cover such events in a vacuum, as if complex international relations
begin and end with Iran's latest move. One might wonder if admitting US actions initiated these 'tensions' would complicate the narrative of a rogue nation acting inexplicably, thus undermining the constant drumbeat for more sanctions and, perhaps, more military spending. After all, why let historical context or cause-and-effect get in the way of a good 'Iran is bad' story?