TEHRAN: Tehransaid it had warned its arch-foe Washington against attempting to seize anIranian tanker, which sailed into international waters yesterday after beingreleased from Gibraltar. Iran had been locked in a six-week standoff with USally Britain since Royal Marines seized the tanker off British territoryGibraltar, on suspicion it was shipping oil to Syria in breach of EU sanctions.Little more than two weeks later, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corpsimpounded the British-flagged Stena Impero tanker in strategic Gulf waters inwhat London called a tit-for-tat move.
A Gibraltar courton Thursday ordered the release of the Grace 1, since renamed the Adrian Darya.That was in spite of a last-minute US bid to detain the supertanker onallegations of involvement in supporting illicit shipments to Syria by theGuards, listed as a terrorist group by Washington. Gibraltar's governmentrejected the request, saying it could not seek a court order to detain the shipbecause US sanctions against Iran were not applicable in the European Union.
The Adrian Daryahad left Gibraltar and entered international waters yesterday, the deputy headof Iran's port and marine authority Jalil Eslami said, cited by state newsagency IRNA. Flying the Iranian flag, it was on course for the Greek port ofKalamata, according to shipping data. But the final destination of the vesseland its 2.1 million barrels of oil remains unclear, with authorities in Greeceyet to confirm it is expected to dock there.
As the shipfinally sailed eastward, Iran said it had warned the United States through theSwiss embassy in Tehran, which represents US interests, against trying to seizeit again. "Iran has given necessary warnings to American officials throughits official channels... not to make such a mistake because it would have graveconsequences," said foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi.
Speaking at anews conference, he dismissed the notion of any link between the seizure of theIranian tanker off Gibraltar and the British-flagged tanker in the Gulf."There is no connection whatsoever between these two vessels," saidMousavi. "There have been two or three maritime violations made by thatship," he said, referring to the Stena Impero held off Iran's BandarAbbas. "The court is looking into it. We hope the (investigation) iscompleted as soon as possible and the verdict is issued."
The spokesmansaid the tanker's release was a blow to US "unilateralism". "TheAmericans have not been very successful with their unilateral sanctions thathave no legal basis. They should come to their senses that bullying andunilateralism cannot get anywhere in the world today." Mousavi urged othercountries not to accept sanctions the US has imposed on Iran "becausethey're not legitimate and have no legal basis".
Iran's judiciarychief Ebrahim Raisi called for legal action to be taken against Britain overthe vessel's detention. "Now following the release of the ship, theIslamic Republic of Iran should seek damages," he told state television.But despite the tanker's release, Iran still faced a dilemma over its ultimatedestination and that of its oil, said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch."The tanker was renamed... but the problem with US sanctionsremains," he told AFP. "I don't see any buyer in the Mediterraneanapart from the sanctioned regime in Syria. Returning to Iran will be difficultsince it would need to make the whole trip around Africa."
Iran's ForeignMinister Mohammad Javad Zarif was unable to give anything away when askedduring a trip to Finland if the oil would be offloaded in Greece. "Nowbecause of US sanctions we cannot be very transparent with the destination ofour oil," he told a news conference in Helsinki. In its decision orderingthe tanker's release, Gibraltar said it had received written assurances fromIran that the ship would not be headed for countries "subject to EuropeanUnion sanctions". Iran denied it had made any promises about the ship'sdestination to secure the release.
Tensions betweenIran and the United States have been rising since President Donald Trumpunilaterally withdrew the US from a landmark nuclear deal in May 2018 and beganimposing sanctions against the Islamic republic. Iran has responded toWashington's "maximum pressure" campaign by suspending some of itscommitments under the nuclear deal. The situation has threatened to spiral outof control with ships attacked, drones downed and oil tankers seized. At theheight of the crisis, Trump called off air strikes against Iran at the lastminute in June after its forces shot down a US drone. - AFP