Gibraltar shies away after US request to seize Iranian tanker Grace 1

An Iranian oil tanker, Grace 1, is still hovering in the waters of Gibraltar two days after authorities released it, sources told the island, quoting the Gibraltar coast guard, that the tanker would leave on Sunday.

The US court issued a court order to detain the tanker on the complaint of the US government, while the Iranian parliament speaker said that Britain knows very well that Tehran will not be subject to what he described as conspiracies and language of force.

Gibraltar's prime minister said in the first statement after the US decision that the Iranian tanker could leave when it was logistically ready.

The UK has not reacted to the US warrant, but any order to detain the ship must be made by the Gibraltar High Court. And yet it does not, and the tanker is still free to sail.

The US Justice Department confirmed in a statement on Friday that the oil tanker is used in "illegal" trade towards Syria, organized by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, which Washington listed on its list of "foreign terrorist organizations."

The US attorney general accused the tanker of involvement in a scheme to "illegally access the US financial system with the aim of supporting illegal shipments from Iran to Syria sent by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards."

It is not known whether Washington has asked the Gibraltar authorities to implement the expropriation warrant, while Iran is changing its flag and name and sending a new crew to sail again.

The Gibraltar authorities intercepted the ship carrying 2.1 million barrels of Iranian oil and detained it on July 4 on suspicion of transporting its cargo to Syria, in violation of the European embargo, which Iran has repeatedly denied.

The authorities of the small region on the southern tip of Spain said on Thursday that the Supreme Court decided to lift the detention of the ship after obtaining a written pledge from Tehran not to deliver its cargo to Syria.

No guarantee
For his part, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Friday that his country has not given the authorities of Gibraltar "any guarantee that the tanker Grace 1 will not go to Syria."

He said in a statement carried on the website of the state television network that "the destination of the tanker was not Syria (...), and even if that destination, the issue does not mean anyone."

"Our tanker, which was illegally detained, has been released," government spokesman Ali Rubaie wrote in a tweet. "This victory without compromise is the result of strong diplomacy and a strong will to fight for the rights of the nation."

Shortly after the comments, a Gibraltar government spokesman confirmed that the "Islamic Republic of Iran has pledged" not to send oil to Syria.

Jalil Islami, deputy director of Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization, said on Friday the tanker would leave the Mediterranean with the Iranian flag, not the Panama flag.

"At the request of the owner, Grace 1 will sail in the Mediterranean after flying the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran and will be named Adrian Daraya during the trip," Eslami was quoted as saying by state television.

Richard La Rosa, general manager of tanker operator Astral Ship, said the ship was supposed to sail "within the next two days" and preparations for its departure were still ongoing.

"They are changing the crew," La Rosa told Agence France Presse, adding that Indian and Ukrainian sailors were due to join the crew on Sunday, adding that the ship "also needed to refuel."