Tehran warns Britan to respond for confining an oil tanker

Tehran warns Britan to respond for confining an oil tanker
July 12, 2019, 11:07 am

According to two Iranian news agencies ISNA and Tasnim, Iran's defence minister, Amir Hatemi warned Britain to roughly respond for confining an Iranian oil tanker off the coast of Gibraltar.

“Incarcerating the tanker will not pass by peacefully," Hatemi threatened.

Iran's defence minister added during the entry of service boats ceremony at Bandar Abbas port that the British act is a "maritime piracy".

"It is a dangerous precedent and must be stopped immediately, "tweeted Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Jawad Zarif.

Zarif added that his country is not a member of the European Union, nor is it under a European oil embargo—confirming the illegal act of confinement.

He wrote that Europe was supposed to be, unlike the United States, against the principle of law with universal powers.

He stressed that Britain's illegal confinement of an Iranian oil tanker in favour of another team is an open piracy.

The former Swedish prime minister and former foreign minister, Carl Bildt, questioned the extent of Britain's legal confinement of a carrier heading to Syria carrying Iranian oil.

"The European sanctions against Syria are being referred to, but Iran is not a member of the European Union, and the principle is that the EU does not force others to sanctions. That’s what America does, " Bildt said on Twitter.

“Exactly!” Zarif retweeted.

Britain's Gibraltar authorities, off the south of Spain, seized the 330-meter-long Grace 1 oil tanker on Thursday. The tanker is capable of carrying a two-million-barrel cargo.

According to the Gibraltar authorities, the intercept was carried out in British territorial waters. Iran confirmed that the tanker was not destined for Syria

"We believe that the Grace 1 ship carries a shipment of crude oil to Banias refinery in Syria and is subject to EU sanctions against Syria," commented Fabian Piccardo, Gibraltar government president.

Iran denies the charges and says the ship has been intercepted in international waters.

On Friday, the Attorney-General of Gibraltar announced that the Supreme Court had issued a decision allowing the confinement of the vessel for 14 days.

Tehran warns Britan to respond for confining an oil tanker

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