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.



Rubio Arrives for NATO Talks as Allies Wait to Learn of US Plans for a Likely Drawdown in Europe

US' Secretary of State Marco Rubio steps off the plane as they arrive for a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP)
US' Secretary of State Marco Rubio steps off the plane as they arrive for a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP)
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Rubio Arrives for NATO Talks as Allies Wait to Learn of US Plans for a Likely Drawdown in Europe

US' Secretary of State Marco Rubio steps off the plane as they arrive for a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP)
US' Secretary of State Marco Rubio steps off the plane as they arrive for a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Trump administration’s new envoy to NATO arrived Thursday in Brussels, where the alliance’s top diplomats are hoping they’ll shed light on US security plans in Europe.

European allies and Canada are deeply concerned by President Donald Trump’s readiness to draw closer to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who sees NATO as a threat, as the US works to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine, The Associated Press said.

Recent White House comments and insults directed at NATO allies Canada and Denmark — as well as the military alliance itself — have raised alarm and confusion, especially with new US tariffs targeting US friends and foes alike.

Since Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned last month that US security priorities lie elsewhere — in Asia and on the US's own borders — the Europeans have waited to learn how big a military drawdown in Europe could be and how fast it may happen.

In Europe and Canada, governments are working on “burden shifting” plans to take over more of the load, while trying to ensure that no security vacuum is created if US troops and equipment are withdrawn from the continent.

These allies are keen to hear from Rubio what the Trump administration’s intentions are and hope to secure some kind of roadmap that lays out what will happen next and when, so they can synchronize planning and use European forces to plug any gaps.

In a statement, newly confirmed US ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker said that “under President Trump’s leadership, NATO will be stronger and more effective than ever before, and I believe that a robust NATO can continue to serve as a bedrock of peace and prosperity.”

But he added: “NATO’s vitality rests on every ally doing their fair share.”

Whitaker affirmed the US commitment to NATO’s collective security guarantee, which says that an attack on any ally must be considered an attack on them all, but that his brief would also be to encourage Europe to lead on “peace, security, and the rebuilding of Ukraine.”

The statement said allies should demonstrate that NATO takes seriously threats from China.