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Iran to Auction Two Seized Tankers

FILE PHOTO: Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner//File Photo
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Iran to Auction Two Seized Tankers

FILE PHOTO: Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner//File Photo

Iran will auction two seized oil tankers involved in oil smuggling, the Iranian judiciary's Mizan news agency reported on Tuesday.
"Two oil tankers Sagha 2 and Ariana... will be sold in the auction", Mizan cited a judiciary official as saying.
In October 2022, Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized the Panama-flagged vessel Ariana carrying 11 million liters of smuggled fuel in the Gulf, according to Iran's state media.
The content of the tanker was transferred to the National Iranian Oil Company according to a judicial order.
Mizan news agency did not give further details about the Sagha 2 tanker.

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Trump’s Iran ‘Nuclear’ Signals Raise Concerns in Tel Aviv

US President-elect Donald Trump delivers remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 16, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
US President-elect Donald Trump delivers remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 16, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
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Trump’s Iran ‘Nuclear’ Signals Raise Concerns in Tel Aviv

US President-elect Donald Trump delivers remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 16, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
US President-elect Donald Trump delivers remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 16, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is concerned about signals from US President-elect Donald Trump, particularly regarding Iran and the West Bank, political sources in Tel Aviv said.

The sources indicated Trump is seeking a nuclear deal with Tehran rather than a military strike and appears unsupportive of any Israeli move to annex the West Bank.

Trump’s aim, the sources added, is to send a clear message to Iran that both military and diplomatic options remain on the table to address its nuclear threat.

He is also leveraging the possibility of an Israeli attack as a means of pressure.

Trump is reluctant to go to war with Iran and does not see the need to completely destroy its nuclear facilities, a goal Israel cannot achieve alone, political sources said.

The US President-elect favors a major Israeli strike supported by the United States from a distance rather than a large-scale joint military operation, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is pushing for.

Israeli broadcaster i24NEWS reported that Trump told Netanyahu he would address Iran’s nuclear program but opposed Israeli plans to annex parts of the West Bank.

The report added that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s comment that “2025 will be the year of annexation” drew criticism from Republican Party sources, who warned that annexation would harm Israel’s international standing.

Israeli media said Trump and Netanyahu held talks on Saturday, while Netanyahu’s envoy, Adam Boehler, held meetings in Israel to discuss key issues.

Israeli analysts said on Monday that Netanyahu is unlikely to order a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, citing domestic divisions over judicial reforms and a lack of clear support from Trump.

They noted Iran has not yet decided to build a nuclear weapon, reducing the urgency for military action.

Nahum Barnea, a columnist for Yedioth Ahronoth, said regional developments in Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza, along with changes in US leadership, have created a rare opportunity to strike Iran.

“Iran’s air defenses are weaker, flight paths are open, and the threat of an Iranian counterattack has diminished,” Barnea wrote.

Still, he said Netanyahu remains hesitant, recalling how the prime minister abandoned a similar plan in 2011 and blamed Israeli security officials and the Obama administration for the retreat.