Iranian Tanker Row: Oil “Sold” in Defiance of US Threats

September 08: A tanker suspected of trying to deliver Iranian oil to Syria in defiance of international sanctions has now sold its cargo, Iran says.

Satellite images appeared to show the vessel, the ADRIAN DARYA-1 (formerly the GRACE 1), off the coast of Syria on Friday.

But an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman would only say the ship had delivered its cargo after docking “on the Mediterranean coast”.

The ship has been at the centre of a US-Iran diplomatic tussle.

It was seized by British marines off Gibraltar in July and held there until 15 August when Iran gave assurances it would not sail to Syria.

The US vowed on Sunday to impose sanctions on any buyer of the oil.

“We will continue to put pressure on Iran and as President (Trump) said there will be no waivers of any kind for Iran’s oil,” US Treasury official Sigal Mandelker told Reuters.

Separately, a British-flagged tanker seized by Iran in what many saw as a retaliatory move was being prepared for release, Iran’s foreign ministry said.

The Stena Impero was going through the final legal processes and would be released “soon”, spokesman Abbas Mousavi said.

The ship has been held since 19 July, for allegedly breaching maritime law – and Iran has consistently denied its seizure had any link to the detention of the Iranian tanker.

Satellite imaging company Maxar released photographs which it said showed the Adrian Darya about two nautical miles off the Syrian port of Tartus on Friday.

Source: BBC