United Nations Security Council meeting on the Mideast attended by United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, Tuesday Aug. 20, 2019 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
The Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says anyone who "touches," supports or allows an Iranian tanker carrying crude oil to dock risks U.S. sanctions.
He told reporters Tuesday that if an Iranian supertanker that left Gibraltar on Sunday again heads to Syria, "we'll take every action we can consistent with those sanctions to prevent that."
The Iranian vessel was detained for a month for allegedly attempting to violate European Union sanctions on Syria. Gibraltar authorities rejected U.S. attempts to seize the tanker.
Pompeo said the U.S. doesn't want crude oil to go to Syria because it will be "off-loaded, sold, used by the Quds force, an organization that has killed countless Americans and people all across the world."
He said he believes this rationale "is shared by the entire world."
United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, left, and Foreign Minister of Poland Jacek Czaputowicz, right, hold a press visit during their visit to attend the United Nations Security Council on the Mideast, Tuesday Aug. 20, 2019 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
The Associated Press
United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, left, and Foreign Minister of Poland Jacek Czaputowicz, right, hold a press visit during their visit to attend the United Nations Security Council on the Mideast, Tuesday Aug. 20, 2019 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
The Associated Press
United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo listens during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the Mideast, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
The Associated Press
United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, right, istens as United Kingdom United Nations Ambassador Karen Pierce, left, address a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the Mideast, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
The Associated Press
Syria United Nations Ambassador Bashar Jaafari, right, listen during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the Mideast, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
The Associated Press
Syria United Nations Ambassador Bashar Jaafari, far left, Iraq U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Hussein Ali Bahr Aluloom, second from right, and Palestine's Permanent Observer to the United Nations Ambassador Riyad Mansour, far right, listen from the observer's seats during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the Mideast, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
The Associated Press