Britain Thinks It Still Runs The Empire : British Marine Seize Iranian Ship
Iran has summoned the British ambassador over the seizure of a supertanker of Iran for carrying a shipment of Tehran’s crude oil to war ravaged Syria.
The Grace 1, Iranian supertanker was boarded by Marines of England off Gibraltar, the British territory at the entrance to the Mediterranean.
The UK which wants to have Right of Free Passage in South China Sea, has stopped the Iranian Ship for breaching not an UNO sanction but that of some vague European Union sanctions on Syria.
The Same Union which UK wants to desperately get out of. However Spain’s Government said the ship was stopped at the request of the United States, which has imposed sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi called the ship’s seizure “odd and destructive”. Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned British ambassador Rob Macaire to voice “its very strong objection to the illegal and unacceptable seizure” of its ship.
The diplomatic gesture lifted any doubt over Iran’s ownership of the vessel, which flies a Panama flag and is listed as managed by a company in Singapore.
Shipping data suggests the tanker was carrying Iranian oil loaded off the coast of Iran, although its documents say the oil is from neighbouring Iraq.
This action of UK should not be acceptable to any country which abides by UN rules. India has clearly stated that it follows only UN imposed sanctions.
Things may turn nasty if China starts imposing its own sanctions on ships passing through the South China Sea. India too should clearly show its displeasure over such actions of UK.
US national security adviser John Bolton tweeted that the ship’s seizure was “excellent news”. He added that “ America and our allies will continue to prevent regimes in Tehran and Damasus from profiting off this illicit trade.”
While Europe has banned oil shipments to Syria since 2011, it had never seized a tanker at sea. Unlike the United States, Europe does not have broad sanctions against Iran.
“This is the first time that the EU has done something so public and so aggressive,” said Matthew Oresman, a partner with law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman who advises firms on sanctions.
“This is likely to have been meant as a signal to Syria and Iran — as well as the US — that Europe takes sanctions enforcement seriously and that the EU can also respond to Iranian brinkmanship related to ongoing nuclear negotiations.”
European countries have so far tried to appear neutral in the escalating confrontation between Tehran and Washington, which saw the United States call off air strikes against Iran just minutes before impact last month, and Iran increasing its Uranium stock banned under a 2015 nuclear deal.
The Gibraltar Government said it had reasonable grounds to believe that the Grace 1 was carrying crude oil to the Baniyas refinery in Syria.
“That refinery is the property of an entity that is subject to European Union sanctions against Syria,” Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said.
“With my consent, our port and law enforcement agencies sought the assistance of the Royal Marines in carrying out this operation.”
The vessel was believed to be headed to the Baniyas Refinery in Syria, a government-owned facility under the control of Syrian President Bashar Assad and subject to the EU’s Syrian Sanctions Regime.
The EU and others have imposed sanctions on Assad’s government over its continued crackdown against civilians. They currently target 270 people and 70 entities.
