The Iranian oil tanker, released by the United Kingdom, is preparing to sail off Gibraltar. It is still open, whether the USA can delay the departure further. The government of the British exclave Gibraltar stressed today that the ship could soon set off. „That could be today, that could be tomorrow,“ said Gibraltar’s senior minister Fabian Picardo to the BBC radio. He had yesterday canceled the order for fixing after six weeks.
Deputy chief of the Iranian Port and Maritime Authority, Jalil Eslami, told the state radio that the 25-strong crew was preparing to travel to the Mediterranean. The tanker, formerly called „Grace 1“ and flying the flag of Panama, will be renamed „Adrian Darya“ and now run under the Iranian flag.
USA are locking up
However, the US wants to prevent the release. A request at the last minute directed them to the British authorities. Picardo did not rule out that the Supreme Court of Gibraltar would again deal with it. „It can absolutely come back to court,“ he said.
The US has reported that the tanker supports the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, who are considered by the Washington government to be a terrorist organization. Britain’s determination was based on another charge. The reason was the suspicion that the ship should smuggle oil to Syria in breach of EU sanctions. Iran denies the charge.
Tehran denies commitment
According to the authorities in Gibraltar, the sentence was lifted after the Tehran leadership had given written assurances that the tanker would not unload its oil in Syria. This statement contradicted a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry. His country had made no pledges, he told the news agency Tasnim. Syria was not the target of the ship from the start. And even if that had been the case, it would not matter to anyone, the speaker was quoted as saying.
