GIBRALTAR: Alast-minute US warrant to seize an Iranian oil tanker preparing to leaveGibraltar after weeks of detention cast doubt over its departure yesterday,prolonging a diplomatic spat between Tehran, London and Washington. The USJustice Department alleged the ship was part of a scheme "to unlawfullyaccess the US financial system to support illicit shipments to Syria from Iranby the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," which Washington has designateda foreign terrorist organization. There was no comment from Britain orGibraltar, its overseas territory.
Any detentionorder would ultimately have to come from Gibraltar's Supreme Court. So far,that has not happened and the ship is still free to sail. Richard de la Rosa,managing director of Astralship, the vessel's shipping agent, told AFP the shipwas preparing for departure. "Within the next two days, she'll begoing," he said. "They're performing crew changes. She needs somereprovisioning," he said, adding new Indian and Ukrainian crewmembers weredue to arrive today.
Gibraltar seizedthe ship on July 4 on suspicion it was transporting oil to Syria in breach ofEuropean Union sanctions, triggering a sharp deterioration in relations betweenTehran and London. Iran has repeatedly denied this. Iran subsequently detainedthe British-flagged tanker Stena Impero in what was seen as a tit-for-tat move.On Thursday, Gibraltar's Supreme Court ordered the tanker released after theBritish overseas territory said it had received assurances from Iran that theGrace 1 would not head to any country subject to EU sanctions.
But in alast-minute twist on Friday, the United States, which is at loggerheads withIran, issued the warrant. It says the vessel and all the oil aboard are subjectto forfeiture based on violations of US sanctions. It also cites violations ofbank fraud, money laundering and terrorism statutes. The US State Departmenthas also threatened to issue a visa ban on anyone working on the ship.
The US move comesafter it tried - and failed - to block the tanker's release on Thursday. TheJuly 4 seizure came amid surging tensions in the Gulf after several allegedIranian attacks on smaller tankers. The US - citing Tehran's threat to Americanallies - expanded its military presence in the region with a new aircraftcarrier task force, missile batteries and strategic bombers. Iran called thedetention of the Grace 1 an "illegal interception" staged by theUnited States, while Washington cheered it as "excellent news".
Ties betweenTehran and Washington are at a low point since US President Donald Trumpwithdrew last year from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between major powers andIran, reimposing crippling unilateral sanctions. On Friday, Iranian officialssaid the tanker was preparing to set sail under an Iranian flag and would berenamed the Adrian Darya for the voyage. Tehran also denied it had made anypromises about the ship's destination to secure the release.
"Iran hasgiven no assurances over the Grace 1 not going to Syria to secure itsrelease," a state media website quoted foreign ministry spokesman AbbasMousavi as saying. "The tanker's destination was not Syria... and even ifit was, it did not concern anyone else." But Gibraltar insisted it was.Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said Gibraltar had deprived the Syrian regime ofBashar Al-Assad of around $140 million worth of crude oil, according to agovernment statement. - AFP