Gibraltar releases Iranian supertanker despite last-minute attempt by US to seize vessel
- Move could help defuse tensions between London and Tehran as British-flagged tanker remains held by Iran
- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accuses US of ‘piracy attempt’ and trying to ‘steal our property on the high seas’
Gibraltar on Thursday allowed a detained Iranian supertanker to leave the British overseas territory despite a last-minute US attempt to seize the vessel, potentially defusing tensions between London and Tehran as a British-flagged tanker remains held by the Islamic Republic.
The release of the Grace 1 comes amid a growing confrontation between Iran and the West after US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers more than a year ago.
In past weeks, the Persian Gulf region has seen six attacks on oil tankers that the US has blamed on Iran and the downing of a US surveillance drone by Iranian forces. Iran denied it was behind the tanker attacks, although it has seized other tankers.
Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said the US was still on time to request a new legal procedure for seizing the Grace 1, but that provisions under the European Union’s sanctions regulations were ending on Thursday after the Iranian government assured him in writing that the ship will not send its 2.1 million barrels of crude to a sanctioned entity in Syria.
Reacting to the developments, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the US of trying to “steal our property on the high seas”.