TEHRAN – An Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander threatened to seize a British ship in retaliation for the capture of an Iranian supertanker in Gibraltar – British Overseas Territory on Spain’s south coast.
“If Britain does not release the Iranian oil tanker, it is the authorities’ duty to seize a British oil tanker,” Mohsen Rezai said on Twitter on Friday.
On the other hand, the Gibraltar government said the crew on board the supertanker were being interviewed as witnesses, not criminal suspects, in a bid to establish the nature of the cargo and its destination. It said order has been obtained extending the detention of the supertanker by 14 days on the pretext of breaking sanctions.
The Grace 1 was impounded on the southern tip of Spain after sailing the long way around Africa from the Middle East to the mouth of the Mediterranean in what appears to be an unconventional route taken by Tehran to keep some exports flowing.
The Gibraltar spokesman said the 28-member crew, who have remained on board the supertanker, were mainly Indians with some Pakistanis and Ukrainians.
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The tension between London and Tehran flared up when British Royal Marines boarded the ship off the coast of the British territory and seized it over accusations it was breaking sanctions by taking oil to Syria; they landed a helicopter on the moving vessel in pitch darkness on Thursday.
This comes days after US President Donald Trump called off air strikes on Iran; Trump had earlier pulled out of the nuclear deal brokered by Obama.
Tehran also summoned the British ambassador on Thursday to voice “its very strong objection to the illegal and unacceptable seizure” of its ship.
Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said the crude oil cargo was from Iran. The ship’s paperwork had said the oil was from neighbouring Iraq, but tracking data suggested it had loaded at an Iranian port.
Over the past two months, the Trump administration has sharply tightened sanctions against Tehran with the aim of halting its oil exports altogether, prompting Iran to look for new markets to sell crude.
Washington also accused Iran of attacking ships in the Gulf, sending shock waves across the Muslim world.
