MADRID — Gibraltar on Thursday allowed a detained Iranian supertanker to leave the British overseas territory after a last-minute U.S. attempt to seize the vessel, potentially defusing tensions between London and Tehran as a British-flagged tanker remains held by the Islamic Republic.
Dudley said that were it not for the U.S. move, “the ship would have sailed,” the Chronicle reported.Britain’s Foreign Office said in a statement that the “investigations conducted around the Grace 1 are a matter for the government of Gibraltar” and that it couldn’t comment further.Sign Up The Grace 1, carrying 2.1 million barrels of Iranian crude, was seized last month in a British Royal Navy operation off Gibraltar. The vessel was suspected of violating European Union sanctions on Syria, namely its Banyas refinery, where the Grace 1′s cargo was allegedly headed, according to authorities in Gibraltar. Iran called the seizure an “act of piracy.”
The whereabouts of the released crew, none of whom are Iranian, were not immediately known. The crew of the Grace 1 includes sailors from India, Pakistan and Ukraine, according to Iranian state television. Tensions have escalated in the Persian Gulf region since Trump over a year ago unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The decision stopped billions of dollars’ worth of business deals, largely halted the sale of Iran’s crude oil internationally and sharply depreciated Iran’s currency, the rial.
“Although the U.S. expects its European allies to abide by these sanctions, it is up to the Gibraltar authorities to assess the allegations presented by the U.S.,” Khatib said.
Of course it did.
Iran keeps calm while US، Britain and Israel continue their provocations!
The US had NO place in that situation whatsoever and should receive the strongest possible reprimand from the UK and other nations.
They should sink it so it doesn’t wander off.
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