The State Department is monitoring an alleged attempt by Iran to establish a military presence in the Western Hemisphere, an agency spokesperson has confirmed.
Doing so would mark the first time Iran’s military has entered the Pacific Ocean.
“We are aware of these claims by Iran’s navy,” the spokesman said. “We continue to monitor Iran’s attempts to have a military presence in the Western Hemisphere,” he added, without providing further details.
“We continue to have a number of tools in our toolbelt available to hold the Iranian regime accountable,” Patel added. “We, of course, are not going to preview sanctions, but we will continue to vigorously enforce our sanctions.”
Iran, US Nuclear Deal Talks Stall
On Friday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced it was identifying the two ships as property in which the government of Iran has an interest, citing the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations.Washington’s relations with Tehran—which has seen widespread anti-government protests in recent months—have been rapidly deteriorating in recent years as the country continues to advance its nuclear program.
Talks between Washington and Iran in an attempt to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, have regularly broken down.
Additionally, Iran has blamed the United States for widespread protests that broke out in the country following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran’s “morality police,” as well as Israel, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia, accusing those nations of attempting to destabilize the country.
Leaders of those nations have denied such claims.
Iran’s interference in the Panama Canal could pose yet another problem for the Biden administration as a number of Latin American nations such as Venezuela—which is reportedly set to sign a multimillion dollar contract with Iran to overhaul its Paraguana refinery complex on the coast of western Venezuela—seek to establish closer relations with Tehran.