Tehran yesterday said that it has warned Washington against making another attempt to seize an Iranian tanker that has departed Gibraltar, despite a US bid to have it detained.
“Iran has given necessary warnings to American officials through its official channels ... not to make such a mistake because it would have grave consequences,” Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Abbas Mousavi told a news conference.
Iran had been locked in a high-seas standoff with US ally the UK since Royal Marines on July 4 seized the Grace 1 off the coast of UK territory Gibraltar on suspicion it was shipping oil to Syria in breach of EU sanctions.
Two weeks later, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps impounded a British-flagged tanker in strategic Persian Gulf waters in what the UK called a tit-for-tat move.
Speaking to reporters, Mousavi dismissed the notion that there was a link between the two seizures.
“There is no connection whatsoever between these two vessels,” he said.
“There have been two or three maritime violations made by that ship,” he said, referring to the British-flagged Stena Impero held off the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. “The court is looking into it. We hope the [investigation] is completed as soon as possible and the verdict is issued.”
The Gibraltar court order for the release of the tanker was a blow to US “unilateralism,” he said.
“The Americans have not been very successful with their unilateral sanctions that have no legal basis. They should come to their senses that bullying and unilateralism cannot get anywhere in the world today,” he added.
Mousavi urged other countries not to accept sanctions the US has imposed on Iran, “because they’re not legitimate and have no legal basis.”
Tensions between Iran and the US have been rising since US President Donald Trump in May last year unilaterally withdrew the US from a landmark nuclear deal.
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