Iran warns US against attempt to seize oil tanker

Bloomberg

Iran warned the US against apprehending a supertanker carrying the Middle East country’s oil, leaving the fate of the vessel uncertain as it sailed east into the Mediterranean Sea from Gibraltar, where it been detained since last month.
The tanker, formerly called the Grace 1 and now known as the Adrian Darya 1, was signaling — at least for now — Kalamata, Greece, with an arrival date of August 25, tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg in London show.
It left Gibraltar after being detained there since early July, when British forces seized it on suspicion of carrying oil to Syria in violation of European sanctions. The US, which has sanctions against Iran, is seeking to prevent anyone from doing business with the ship.
“The US surely can’t seize the Iranian tanker and, if it does, it would pose a threat to international maritime security,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said. Iran warned the US via “diplomatic channels,” including Switzerland, against interfering with the tanker, in international waters, Mousavi said at a news conference in Tehran. Swiss diplomats serve as interlocutors between the US and Iran.
The incident is one of several in recent months that have strained relations between Iran and the West, following the US reinstatement of sanctions on the Persian Gulf state last year. Iran has maintained that the ship’s original detention on July 4 was unlawful. The Persian Gulf state continues to hold a UK-flagged tanker, the Stena Impero. Aggression in the region has threatened shipping in recent months in the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical waterway for oil supplies.
It’s not known where the Iranian vessel is ultimately headed. The port of Kalamata can’t handle vessels the size of the supertanker and no refueling facilities are available, Gyannoula Nikolaous, the port’s acting harbor master, said by phone. In addition, the port hasn’t been informed of the ship’s intention to arrive there, he said.
Greek authorities also haven’t received formal notification that the vessel intends to head to a port in the country, according to a spokesman for Greece’s coast guard.