British Royal Marines captured an oil tanker in Gibraltar on June 27, after being accused of bringing oil to Syria, thus breaching EU sanctions. This could be considered a dramatic step that could escalate tensions between the West and Iran.
Namely, Reuters reports that the Grace 1 tanker was seized in UK territory, after sailing around Africa from the Gulf. In addition, shipping data shows that the ship was carrying Iranian oil off the coast of Iran, despite the fact that its documents indicate the oil is from Iraq.
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Now, the Gibraltar authorities who seized the vessel, proceeded to this action under the authority of European sanctions against Syria that apply for years. However, they made no reference to the source of the oil.
Nevertheless, the possibility that the cargo was Iranian may be establishing a link between this incident and new US attempts to stop worldwide sales of Iranian crude. Regarding the latter, Iran considers it an illegal ‘economic war’ against the country.
