Pravda: Russia is following in Iran's footsteps in response to sanctions

The Russian newspaper "Pravda" published an article whose writer believes that Iran's recent action to stop two Greek oil tankers sailing in the Gulf waters after Greece seized an Iranian oil tanker;

It provides an example for Russia of how to respond to unilateral Western sanctions.

In her article in the newspaper, Lyubov Stepochova, an expert on Latin America and Africa, said that the Russian ship "Lana", which was earlier called "Pegas", was sailing on April 15, bearing the Iranian flag, with a Russian crew of 19 people on board. It was stopped by the Greek authorities, who transferred their cargo of oil to an American tanker.

The writer said that through the efforts of the Greeks to determine the party to which the tanker belongs, despite the renaming, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on the ship.

According to the United Against Nuclear Iran Group, an American non-profit organization, during 2021 PEGASE transported more than 3 million barrels of Iranian oil, from which China received more than 2.6 million barrels.

In her article, the expert cited a comment by Anatoly Kapustin, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Russian International Law Association, on the incident;

He said that the unilateral US sanctions are not international, noting that only the United Nations has the legitimacy to impose this type of sanctions, which means that the measures taken by the Greek authorities regarding the confiscation of oil and the tanker are considered theft and are in violation of international rules.

Kapustin adds, "This is piracy and theft, it cannot be explained in another way. What do US sanctions have to do with Russia and Greece? This kind of measure encourages piracy in the Mediterranean."

Iranian response

The article pointed out that the Iranian Ports and Maritime Navigation Authority on May 26 detained two Greek oil tankers, "Prodent and Riore" and "Delta Poseidon" in the Gulf waters due to "maritime violations". The ship's crew was transferred to a hotel while the ship was confiscated. oil.

Commenting on the Iranian response to Greece, Kapustin believes that Iran's reaction to the seizure of its tanker is completely legitimate, explaining that "after an agreement between them, the United States and Greece resorted to piracy. In principle, as long as the dispute is not referred to the court, the Iranians They are right and they will act accordingly, and any other country subject to a similar scenario will act accordingly."

Iran: 'We are the law here'

The writer mentioned in her article what was stated in the Iranian Foreign Ministry statement issued last Saturday, where Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that the conflict between Iran and Greece is managed by the United States, so this incident should not affect the nature of relations between Iran and Greece.

The Iranian "Tasnim" agency also indicated that there are currently 17 other Greek-flagged tankers in the Gulf subject to detention by the Iranian authorities if Greece continues to follow the same policy;

Note that Iran is demanding the return of the confiscated oil.

The writer mentioned the dialogue that took place between the Iranian authorities and the crew of the Greek ship at the time of her arrest, quoting a Greek newspaper, which said that the dialogue that took place was as follows:

Iranians: Don't move.

If you have a weapon, hand it over now.

Crew: We're unarmed, we're a merchant ship.

who are you?

This is a breach of the law.

Iranians: We are the law here.

Everyone gathered in the cockpit and parked the ship, handed over your phones and turned off the radio systems.

According to the article of the Russian newspaper, the Greek Foreign Ministry sent last Friday a protest note to the Iranian ambassador in Athens regarding the forcible seizure of two ships sailing under the Greek flag in the Gulf, describing it as "piracy".

Greece was supported by France and the European Union, which affirmed its commitment to the rules of international law that protect freedom of navigation and safety at sea.

What measures should Russia take?

The writer asked about the measures that Russia should take to deal with the sanctions imposed on it by the United States and the European Union, referring to Kapustin's opinion, which is expected that after the release of the ship, Moscow will issue a diplomatic protest note and demand compensation for the losses incurred by the owners of the ship, indicating to the right of the Russian carrier, the owner of this tanker, to apply to the Greek authorities for compensation either through a Greek court or the Russian courts.

The writer concluded that Tehran provided Moscow with a clear example of how to respond to sanctions after Moscow was unable to take a clear response against the chaos and the West's seizure of its assets abroad.