Royal Marines help seize tanker suspected of carrying Iranian oil to Syria

Iran summons UK ambassador over incident off Gibraltar as tensions escalate over nuclear deal

Dan Sabbagh and Patrick Wintour
Thu 4 Jul 2019 20.03 BST First published on Thu 4 Jul 2019 09.01 BST

Royal Marines have helped seize an Iranian supertanker suspected of carrying oil to Syria off the coast of Gibraltar, escalating tensions between the UK and Tehran as the agreement aimed at halting Iran’s nuclear programme unravels.

A detachment of nearly 30 British troops working with the Gibraltarian police intercepted the vessel, believed to be carrying 2m barrels of oil, in a dramatic manoeuvre Spain said had been conducted at the request of the US.

Tehran responded by summoning Britain’s ambassador to its foreign ministry to explain what it described as an “illegal seizure”, which had been earlier described by the UK as enforcing the EU’s sanctions regime against Syria.

It is understood that Rob Macaire reiterated the British position during the meeting, saying: “[The UK] welcomes this firm action by the Gibraltarian authorities” to enforce sanctions against the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

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