Retaliation after ship seized

British shipping threatened after Royal Marines capture tanker

AN IRANIAN Revolutionary Guards commander threatened yesterday to seize a British ship in retaliation for the capture of an Iranian supertanker in Gibraltar by Royal Marines.

“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.

The Gibraltar government said the crew on board the supertanker, Grace 1, were being interviewed as witnesses, not criminal suspects, in an effort to establish the nature of the cargo and its ultimate destination.

British Royal Marines abseiled on to the ship off the coast of the British territory on Thursday and seized it.

The move escalates a confrontation between Iran and the West just weeks after the US called off air strikes minutes before impact.

Tehran summoned the British ambassador on Thursday to voice “its very strong objection to the illegal and unacceptable seizure” of its ship, a move that also eliminated doubt about the ownership of the vessel.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said the crude oil cargo was from Iran. The ship’s paperwork had said the oil was from Iraq, but tracking data suggested it had loaded at an Iranian port.

European countries have walked a careful line since last year, when the US ignored their pleas and pulled out of a pact between Iran and world powers that gave Tehran access to global trade in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

Over the past two months, Washington has sharply tightened sanctions against Tehran with the aim of halting its oil exports altogether.

The moves have largely driven Iran from mainstream markets and forced it to find unconventional ways to sell crude.

The confrontation took on a military dimension in recent weeks, with Washington accusing Iran of attacking ships in the Gulf and Iran shooting down a US drone.

President Donald Trump ordered, then cancelled, retaliatory strikes.

Iran announced this week it had amassed more fissile material than allowed under its deal, and said it would purify uranium to a higher degree than permitted from July 7.

The Grace 1 was impounded after sailing the long way around Africa from the Middle East to the mouth of the Mediterranean, a route that demonstrates the unusual steps Iran appears to be taking to try to keep some exports flowing.

Gibraltar said it had reasonable grounds to believe the Grace 1 was carrying crude oil to the Baniyas refinery in Syria. |

AP THE Royal Marine patrol vessel is seen beside the Grace 1 super tanker in the British territory of Gibraltar, on Thursday. |