Iran's tanker departs for Greek port

Teheran warns against seizure attempt as Gibraltar turns down US request

TEHERAN - An Iranian tanker caught in a standoff between Teheran and the West was sailing to Greece on Monday after leaving Gibraltar, and Iran warned against any US move to seize the vessel after Gibraltar authorities rejected a request from the United States to detain it.

Iran had been locked in a high-seas standoff with the United Kingdom, a US ally, since British Marines and Gibraltar port officials seized the Grace 1 off the coast of Gibraltar on July 4 on suspicion it was shipping oil to Syria in breach of a European Union embargo. Iran has denied its tanker was ever headed to Syria.

Little more than two weeks later, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard impounded the British-flagged Stena Impero tanker in strategic Gulf waters in what Britain called a tit-for-tat move.

The two vessels have since become pawns in a bigger game, feeding into wider hostilities since the US last year pulled out of an international agreement to curb Iran's nuclear program, and reimposed economic sanctions.

A court in Gibraltar ordered the release of the Grace 1 on Thursday.

That was despite a last-minute US request to detain the ship on allegations of involvement in supporting illicit shipments to Syria by the Revolutionary Guard, listed as a terrorist group by Washington.

Gibraltar's government rejected the request, saying it could not seek a court order to detain the supertanker because US sanctions against Iran were not applicable in the EU.

The tanker, bearing a new name, Adrian Darya 1, and flying the Iranian flag, departed on Sunday evening for the Greek port of Kalamata, according to the monitoring website Marine Traffic.

But the final destination of the supertanker and its 2.1 million barrels of oil remains unclear, with authorities in Greece yet to confirm that it is expected to dock there.

In its decision ordering the release of the tanker, Gibraltar said it had received written assurances from Iran that the ship would not be headed for countries "subject to European Union sanctions".

Iran denied it had made any promises about the ship's destination to secure the release.

As it finally sailed eastward on Monday, Iran said it had warned the US through the Swiss embassy in Teheran, which represents US interests, against trying to seize it again.

"Iran has given necessary warnings to American officials through its official channels ... not to make such a mistake because it would have grave consequences," said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi.

Speaking to reporters at a news conference, he dismissed the notion that there was a link between the seizure of the Iranian tanker off Gibraltar and Iran's seizure of the British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.

"There is no connection whatsoever between these two vessels," said Mousavi.

"There have been two or three maritime violations made by that ship," he said, referring to the Stena Impero, now held off the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.

"The court is looking into it. We hope the (investigation) is completed as soon as possible and the verdict is issued."

The 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 US has imposed on Iran "because they're not legitimate and have no legal basis".

Tensions between Iran and its arch-foe the US have been rising since US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew Washington from the landmark nuclear deal in May 2018 and began imposing sanctions against the Islamic republic as part of a "maximum pressure" campaign.

Iran has responded by suspending some of its commitments under the nuclear deal.

The situation has threatened to spiral out of control in the past few weeks with ships attacked, drones downed and oil tankers seized.

At the height of the crisis, Trump called off airstrikes against Iran at the last minute in June after its forces shot down a US drone.

Agencies - Xinhua

(China Daily 08/20/2019 page11)