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Aug 15, 2019
World News: U.S. bid to seize Iranian tanker halts its release from Gibraltar
LONDON/GIBRALTAR
(Reuters) - The United States applied on Thursday to seize an Iranian
tanker detained by Gibraltar, halting its expected release at the last
minute and preventing a possible swap for a British-flagged tanker held
by Iran.
The two seized tankers - an Iranian one in Gibraltar and
a British one in Iran - have become pawns in the standoff between Iran
and the West, with their fate tangled in the diplomatic differences
between the EU’s big powers and the United States.
The Iranian
Grace 1 oil tanker was seized by Royal Marine commandos in a landing in
darkness off the coast of the British overseas territory on July 4.
Gibraltar
said the tanker was suspected of selling oil to Syria in breach of
European Union sanctions. Two weeks later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards
seized the British-flagged Stena Impero in the Gulf on July 19.
Gibraltar was due to release the Grace 1 on Thursday, but just hours before, the U.S. Department of Justice sought to seize it.
“The
U.S. Department of Justice has applied to seize the Grace 1 on a number
of allegations which are now being considered,” the government of
Gibraltar said, adding the matter would return to the supreme court of
Gibraltar at 1400 GMT on Thursday.
Iranian
oil tanker Grace 1 sits anchored in the fog after it was seized in July
by British Royal Marines off the coast of the British Mediterranean
territory on suspicion of violating sanctions against Syria, in the
Strait of Gibraltar, southern Spain August 15, 2019. REUTERS/Jon Nazca
Further
details were not immediately released about the grounds for the U.S.
Justice Department’s application. The U.S. Justice Department was not
immediately available for comment.
A source in Gibraltar had told
Reuters ahead of Thursday’s court hearing that the Grace 1 would
probably be allowed to leave, stoking speculation about a possible
tanker swap with Iran.
The Gibraltar Chronicle newspaper, which
was first to report the news, said the court’s chief justice, Anthony
Dudley, made clear that were it not for the U.S. move, “the ship would
have sailed”.
While both Britain and Iran deny they were planning
to swap the vessels for each other, there has been widespread
expectation that the Britsh-flagged ship will not be freed until the
Iranian tanker is released.
TANKER PAWNS
European
countries including Britain strongly disagreed with Washington’s
decision last year to abandon an international agreement that guaranteed
Iran access to trade in return for curbs to its nuclear program.
Washington
has imposed sanctions on Iran with the aim of halting its oil exports
altogether. European countries have lifted sanctions against Iran itself
but still have a ban on selling oil to Syria, in place since 2011.
Gibraltar
denies that it was ordered to detain the Grace 1, which was carrying up
to 2.1 million barrels of oil, but several diplomatic sources have said
the United States asked the United Kingdom to seize the vessel.
Britain,
which has insisted its Iran policy will not change under new Prime
Minister Boris Johnson who took office last month, has repeatedly
indicated it wants a compromise over the tanker.
U.S. national
security adviser John Bolton visited London on Sunday to Tuesday,
offering Washington’s help on Britain’s exit from the EU, due on Oct.
31. Britain has announced plans to join a U.S.-led maritime security
mission in the Gulf.
Iranian navy commander Rear Admiral Hossein
Khanzadi repeated Iran’s longstanding demand that Western navies leave
the Gulf, which Iran says should be patrolled only by the countries of
the region.
“The enemies of the region, America, England and the
Zionist regime and their allies, should know that the time of parading,
loitering and putting on a hypocritical show in the Persian Gulf region
and the sea of Oman is over,” Khanzadi said, according to ISNA news
agency.
“The enemies must leave the region as quickly as possible.”
Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Michael Holden
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