United States v. All Petroleum-Product Cargo Onboard the M/T Arina

── United States v. All Petroleum-Product Cargo Onboard the M/T Arina ── Court: Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Date: April 21, 2026 Category: General United States Court of Appeals FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT Argued November 14, 2025 Decided April 21, 2026 No. 24-5218 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, APPELLEE v. ALL PETROLEUM-PRODUCT CARGO ONBOARD THE M/T ARINA WITH INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION NUMBER 9189952 AND ALL PETROLEUM-PRODUCT CARGO ONBOARD THE M/T NOSTOS WITH INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION NUMBER 9258014, APPELLEES ASPAN PETROKIMYA CO., APPELLANT Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (No. 1:21-cv-03234) Michael J. Satin argued the cause for appellant. With him on the briefs was Timothy P. O’Toole. Katherine Twomey Allen, Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, argued the cause for appellee. With her on the brief were Jeanine Ferris Pirro, U.S. Attorney, and Brian P. Hudak, Assistant U.S. Attorney.  2 Before: HENDERSON, KATSAS and GARCIA, Circuit Judges. Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge GARCIA. GARCIA, Circuit Judge: In the fall of 2021, the United States seized over 700,000 barrels of crude oil from two tankers in the Mediterranean Sea. According to the government, that oil is subject to civil forfeiture because it belonged to the National Iranian Oil Company, an entity that has materially supported the Iranian military’s terrorist activities. A private commodities trading company claimed ownership of the oil and moved to dismiss the forfeiture action on the grounds that the United States did not adequately plead several elements of its forfeiture claim. The district court denied that motion. We affirm. I Congress has designated certain property “subject to forfeiture to the United States.” 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1). That category includes “[a]ll assets” of any entity “engaged in planning or perpetrating any [] Federal crime of terrorism . . . against the United States.” Id. § 981(a)(1)(G)(i). A “Federal crime of terrorism,” in turn, is any of several enumerated offenses, so long as it is “calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion, or to retaliate against government conduct.” Id. § 2332b(g)(5). Those enumerated offenses include “knowingly provid[ing] material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization.” Id. § 2339B(a)(1). The material-support statute provides extraterritorial jurisdiction over that offense if it “occurs in or affects interstate or foreign commerce.” Id. § 2339B(d)(1)(E). The government’s Amended Complaint alleges the following facts. The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC)  3 is a state-owned enterprise responsible for producing and exporting Iranian oil and petroleum. NIOC generates billions of dollars of annual revenue and provides between one-third and two-thirds of the Iranian government’s total revenue. Among the beneficiaries of that funding are the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Qods Force (collectively, the IRGC), branches of the Iranian military responsible for terrorist activities worldwide, including attacks on U.S. officials, servicemembers, and civilians. See Am. Compl. ¶ 20 (describing the IRGC’s role in bombings that have killed and injured U.S. civilians and military personnel). The United States designated the IRGC a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2019. NIOC cooperates and coordinates directly with the IRGC, including by acting as its “agent or affiliate” and selling oil on its behalf. Id. ¶¶ 25–26, 41. More generally, “Iran’s petrochemical and petroleum sectors are primary sources of funding for the Iranian regime’s global terrorist activities.” Id. ¶ 13. In October 2020, the Stark I—a ship owned by the National Iranian Tanker