TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s defense minister vows today to respond to Britain’s detention of an Iranian oil tanker off the coast of Gibraltar.
The tanker’s seizure “will not be tolerated by us and will not go without a response,” says Amir Hatami, quoted by Iran’s ISNA and Tasnim news agencies. “This move is against international regulations and a kind of maritime piracy,” he says during a ceremony at Bandar Abbas port in southern Iran.
The 330-meter (1,000-feet) Grace 1, capable of carrying two million barrels of oil, was halted Thursday by police and customs agencies in Gibraltar, a British overseas territory on Spain’s southern tip. Authorities in Gibraltar said they suspected the tanker was carrying crude to Syria in violation of EU sanctions. Tehran denies this and claims the vessel was intercepted in international waters.
The tanker’s detention “sets a dangerous precedent and must end now,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweets today. He questions the seizure’s legality, saying “Iran is neither a member of the EU nor subject to any European oil embargo.”
Europe is supposed to be “against extraterritoriality,” unlike the United States, he writes.
— AFP
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll gain access to some amazing Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel ten years ago - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
comments