Iran tanker row: Gibraltar rejects US request to detain ship
Source: BBC
Gibraltar has rejected a request by the US to again seize an Iranian tanker that it has been holding since July on suspicion of transporting oil to Syria. The US made the last-minute request on Friday, a day after Gibraltar lifted its detention order against (the ship) ‘Grace 1‘.
Gibraltar said it could not comply with Washington's request to issue a new detention order because US sanctions against Iran did not apply in the EU. Gibraltar, in a statement on Sunday, said it could not comply with the request because the Revolutionary Guard is not viewed as a terrorist organisation by the EU, which the British territory is currently part of. It also said that American sanctions preventing oil exports from Iran cannot be enforced by the EU, reflecting what it said were "the very different positions and legal regimes in the US and the EU".
The ship with its crew of 29 - from India, Russia, Latvia and the Philippines - was seized with the help of British marines on 4 July, after the government of Gibraltar - a British territory - suggested it was heading for Syria in breach of EU sanctions. The tanker is due to leave Gibraltar later on Sunday, Iran's UK envoy says. Tehran said it was ready to dispatch its navy to escort the ship, which has had its named changed from Grace 1 to Adrian Darya 1.
There has been no response yet from Washington.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-49389592?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world&link_location=live-reporting-story
= new reply since forum marked as read
the waters claimed by the UK around Gibraltar, heading towards the strait and apparently out of the Mediterranean:
A US warship passed by four hours ago without interfering:
within narrative limits...
... The Iran-flagged Adrian Darya 1, previously named Grace 1, set course for Kalamata, Greece, with an estimated arrival on Aug. 25, according to ship tracking service MarineTraffic... Gibraltar said it had been assured by Iran that the tanker wouldn’t unload its cargo in Syria. Iranian government officials have yet to publicly acknowledge the ship’s next destination, or where it will discharge its cargo of 2.1 million barrels of crude oil. Iran has denied it was ever headed for Syria...
... Analysts had said the Iranian ship’s release by Gibraltar might mean that the Stena Impero could go free. But Iranian officials denied there was any link between the two ships. “There is no specific relation between these two ships,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said of the Stena Impero and the Adrian Darya 1. “We are glad that our stance about the unlawful and illegal seizure of our tanker has been proven.” ... “Regarding the release of the law-breaking British tanker (Stena Impero), we have to wait for the court’s ruling,” he added. “This tanker has committed two to three nautical violations that are being investigated. We hope that these investigations will finish as soon as possible and a verdict will be issued and if the verdict orders its release, it can continue to sail its path.”
In a last-ditch effort to stop the release, the U.S. unsealed a warrant Friday to seize the Adrian Darya 1 and its cargo, citing violations of U.S. sanctions as well as money laundering and terrorism statutes...
... The Iranian spokesman warned Monday against any order by the U.S. Justice Department to have the renamed ship seized again. “If such an action is taken or even if it is stated verbally and not done, it is considered a threat against the maritime security in international waters,” said Mousavi. “The Islamic Republic of Iran has given necessary warnings to the U.S. officials through official channels, especially the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, not to commit such a mistake which (could) bring them severe consequences.”...
https://apnews.com/b37d4f169c31449fb57e619195e9d758
... U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran in May last year, while the European Union is still part of the accord, which allows Tehran to sell its oil. Washington wants to reduce Iran’s oil exports to zero and re-imposed U.S. sanctions which place heavy penalties on any breaches even for non-U.S. citizens and companies, including asset freezes and being cut off from the U.S. financial system.
While EU regulations still allow for companies and citizens in the bloc to engage in trade with Iran, falling foul of U.S. sanctions has meant most banks are unwilling to process even authorised transactions such as for food and medicine, finance sources say. This is likely to be the first major foreign policy challenge for Greece’s new Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis since he took office in July if the vessel enters Greek territorial waters...
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-iran-tanker/iran-tanker-heads-to-greece-after-release-iran-warns-u-s-against-seizure-attempt-idUKKCN1V90DS
... The Iranian spokesman said the Gibraltar court order for the release of the tanker was a blow to US "unilateralism". "The Americans have not been very successful with their unilateral sanctions that have no legal basis. They should come to their senses that bullying and unilateralism cannot get anywhere in the world today." Mousavi urged other countries not to accept sanctions the United States has imposed on Iran "because they're not legitimate and have no legal basis".
Iran's judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi called for legal action to be taken against Britain over the ship's detention. "Now following the release of the ship, the Islamic Republic of Iran should seek damages," he told state television.
But despite the tanker's release, Iran still faced a dilemma over its ultimate destination and that of its oil, said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch. "The tanker was renamed... but the problem with US sanctions remains," he told AFP. "I don't see any buyer in the Mediterranean apart from the sanctioned regime in Syria. Returning to Iran will be difficult since it would need to make the whole trip around Africa."...
https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/iran-warns-us-against-seizing-tanker-doc-1jm3sa6
