Iranian tanker remains off Syria’s coast

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — New satellite photos obtained Tuesday show that an Iranian oil tanker pursued by the U.S. remains off the coast of Syria.

The images from Planet Labs, obtained by The Associated Press, show the Adrian Darya-1 still near the port city of Tartus. The images taken Sunday show a smaller vessel nearby.

The Adrian Darya-1, formerly known as the Grace-1, was carrying 2.1 million barrels of Iranian crude oil.

Britain said Tuesday that it’s clear the tanker delivered its cargo to Syria in violation of international sanctions.

The British Foreign Office said Iran’s ambassador to the U.K. has been summoned for a conversation with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

Raab said in a statement that Iran had broken a promise that oil aboard the Adrian Darya-1 would not go to Syria.

“This sale of oil to [Syrian President Bashar] Assad’s brutal regime is part of a pattern of behavior by the government of Iran designed to disrupt regional security,” he said. “This includes illegally supplying weapons to Houthi insurgents in Yemen, support for Hezbollah terrorists and most recently its attempts to hijack commercial ships passing through the Gulf.”

Gibraltar earlier seized and held the tanker for weeks on suspicion the vessel was breaking European Union sanctions on Syria. The British territory later released the vessel after authorities there said Iran promised the oil wouldn’t go to Syria.

AP/ANDREW MATTHEWS Domestic pigs roam Tuesday during Pannage, when the animals are allowed to wander in the New Forest each fall to feast on fallen acorns near Burley, England. In large quantities, the acorns are dangerous for horses and cattle.