US: Detention of Tanker Loaded with Iranian Crude ‘Excellent News’

Washington, MINA — White House National Security Advisor John Bolton applauded the interception by Britain’s Gibraltar Thursday of a supertanker believed to be carrying Iranian crude oil to Syria, saying the ship was breaking international sanctions.

“Excellent news: UK has detained the supertanker Grace I laden with Iranian oil bound for Syria in violation of EU sanctions,” Bolton tweeted, Times of Israel was quoted by MINA as reporting.

“America & our allies will continue to prevent regimes in Tehran & Damascus from profiting off this illicit trade,” he said.

Iran condemned the detention of the tanker as an “illegal interception,” but Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said in a statement that the cargo was believed destined for the Banyas Refinery in Syria, which is subject to European sanctions.

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“That refinery is the property of an entity that is subject to European Union sanctions against Syria,” he said.

The 330 meter (1,000 feet) Grace 1 tanker was halted in the early hours of Thursday by police and customs agencies in Gibraltar, a tiny overseas British territory on Spain’s southern tip.

They were aided by a detachment of British Royal Marines. (T/RI-1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)