Iran seizes US oil cargo worth $50mln in Persian Gulf

The US oil cargo was carried by the Marshall Islands-flagged Advantage Sweet in the Persian Gulf.

The confiscation took place upon a court ruling in favor of the patients afflicted with epidermolysis bullosa (EB) or butterfly patients.

In their compliant, the EB patients, who are characterized by extreme fragility of the skin and mechanically induced blistering, claimed damages against the US.

They stated that the Western sanctions, especially those by the US, have prevented a Swedish company from selling medicines to Iran and caused severe physical and mental harm to them.

The United States reinstated its sanctions against Iran in May 2018 after leaving a United Nations-endorsed nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic and five other countries.

Since then, Mölnlycke Health Care, a Swedish medical device company headquartered in Gothenburg, has stopped selling pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, including special bandages for EB patients, to Iranian companies, citing the unilateral US sanctions.

The move has deprived EB patients of essential medical items, killed many of them, and inflicted serious physical injuries such as amputation to some of the patients.