Iran has said the US seizure of a crude oil cargo aboard an Evangelos Marinakis-linked VLCC this month is an “act of piracy”.

Washington claims the crude on the 298,000-dwt Achilleas (built 2010) ship was exported covertly by Tehran to avoid US trade sanctions.

“The shipment belongs to the private sector,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters in Tehran on Monday.