Million liters of smuggling: Iran reports detention of oil tanker in the Persian Gulf

In Tehran, a foreign tanker was detained in the Persian Gulf from 1 million liters of smuggled fuel. This was reported by Tasnim agency with reference to the press service of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC). The home port of the vessel is not specified.

“After making sure that a foreign tanker smuggled fuel and was ordered by Iranian judicial authorities, the IRGC navy intercepted it during an unexpected operation,” the publication said.

It is noted that the incident occurred on Sunday, July 14. The ship itself, according to the IRGC, can carry up to 2 million liters of fuel and received smuggling from Iranian boats for resale. The crew of the tanker consists of 12 people.

Recently, an increase in tensions has been observed in the Persian Gulf. Thus, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday, July 17, said that a dangerous situation had developed in the region.

“This is a very dangerous situation: there are many ships in the Persian Gulf that should not be there,” he said. - In our jurisdiction, 1.5 thousand miles of coastline, but why there are other ships, I do not know. We provide security and stability in the region, and I believe that this security and stability should apply to everyone. ”

The incident with the detention of the tanker will lead to a further increase in tension in the region, said Irina Fedorova, a senior researcher at the Center for the Study of the Near and Middle East, Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences.

“Next is an even greater increase in tension. Repeatedly, the Iranian president has said that they will not allow the Persian Gulf war. But each action can provoke it: as the actions of the British or Americans can serve as a pretext for Iran, so can some Iranian actions, ”she told RT.

At the same time, the expert noted that all parties will avoid direct confrontation.

• Oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, archival photo
• Reuters
• © Hamad I Mohammed

"Sent to escalation of tension"

On July 11, the UK declared that the three IRGC cutters allegedly tried to prevent the British tanker British Heritage from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, and therefore the frigate of the Royal Navy Montrose stepped between the boats and the ship and gave them an “oral warning”.

However, in Iran, this information was refuted. The IRGC noted that they did not interact with any foreign courts. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, commenting on the statements of the British side, admitted that they are aimed at escalating the situation.

“What they themselves claim, what they themselves say, is aimed at escalating tensions. These statements are worth nothing, ”Fars agency quotes the diplomat as saying.

In connection with this situation in Russia, all parties called for a dialogue to resolve disputes.

“We also continue, as we have done before, to urge everyone to exercise restraint in the Persian Gulf, so as not to aggravate the situation, and to resolve all disputed situations through dialogue,” said Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

He stressed that freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz should be maintained.

Also in the Strait of Hormuz, an incident occurred with the UAE tanker. The Associated Press reported on July 16 that the vessel Riah had not signaled its location in the previous two days. A source at the Pentagon said the US authorities suspected Iran of the incident, allegedly seizing a tanker.

However, the official representative of the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic, Abbas Mousavi, said that the foreign tanker had submitted a request for assistance due to a technical malfunction, in response, the Iranian Navy towed it to the country's territorial waters for repair.

“Iranian sailors acted in strict accordance with international rules,” Al-Mayadeen reported.

In addition, at the beginning of the month, the British authorities detained in Iran the Iranian tanker Grace 1, which, according to them, was heading for Syria to sell oil, which is prohibited by EU sanctions. Tehran stated that the ship had a different destination and warned of possible retaliatory measures.

Later, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt held a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart. Following the results, the representative of London noted that Tehran intends to solve the problem with the detained tanker.

“Foreign Minister Zarif said that Iran wants to solve the problem and does not seek escalation. I also talked to the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, who copes with the solution of this issue and shares the views of the UK on further actions, ”he wrote on Twitter.

2/2 Was told by FM Coverage of the UK on the way forward.

The parties to the conflicts blame each other for all these incidents, which only underlines the aggravation in the region, said Vladimir Fitin, an expert at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies.

“These episodes are absolutely not clear and opaque. Americans in all cases, as is known, accuse Iranians, Iranians categorically refuse, saying that these are regular provocations to which they are not involved. Therefore, this indicates additional tension, which is not known where it may lead, ”he told RT.

"An important initiative of European countries"

The United States previously unilaterally withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan (JAP) on the Iranian nuclear program. In addition, Washington imposed on Tehran a number of sanctions.

The remaining participants in the transaction - Russia, China, France, Germany and the United Kingdom - stated their intention to adhere to the agreements. For example, European countries launched the INSTEX system to carry out financial calculations to bypass American sanctions. However, this system at the moment concerns only operations with medicines and food, which are not subject to sanctions anyway. In Iran, they said that for the full functioning of INSTEX, the European Union should buy oil.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also noted that the calculations carried out through this system are insufficient compared with the commitments made by European countries. Nevertheless, the Kremlin stresses that this is an important system, to which Moscow may join in the future.

“We believe that this is an important initiative of European countries, an important project aimed at protecting the interests of European economic operators against the background of illegal attempts to restrict their activities by third countries,” said Peskov.

At the same time, Iran is ready to conduct a dialogue with the United States, said President Hassan Rouhani.

“We have always believed in negotiations ... If they lift the sanctions, stop exerting economic pressure on us and return to the deal, we are ready to hold talks with America today, right now and anywhere,” he said.

As Fitin explained, the negotiation process is very difficult due to the actions of the United States.

“Iran, of course, would like to find a way out. But the Americans say: “Go to us to negotiate from a clean slate”, and the Iranians say: “Negotiations under such pressure do not lead. First, lift the sanctions next. After that, we are ready to negotiate. ” That is, until the readiness of both sides to adopt a common position for the start of negotiations is not, ”the expert stated.