Greek Court Overturns Ruling That Allowed US to Seize Iranian Oil Cargo

Three informed sources reported that on Wednesday, a Greek court overturned a previous court ruling that had allowed the United States to confiscate part of an Iranian oil shipment aboard an Iranian-flagged tanker off Greek shores.

In response to this incident, Iran seized two Greek tankers in the Persian Gulf last month. Tehran had previously warned that it would take retaliatory measures against Athens.

A legal source told Reuters that Iran had filed an appeal against the court’s initial decision. The source also stated: “The action to overturn the ruling has been accepted by the court.”

It remains unclear whether the United States or Greek governments will appeal this ruling, which was issued by the Chalkis regional appellate court. The outcome of this appeal has not yet been made public.

Greece called Iran’s seizure of the two Greek tankers in the Persian Gulf “piracy.”

It is worth noting that Greek authorities seized the “Pegas” tanker, which carried an Iranian flag, last month. The vessel, with 19 Russian crew members, was seized near the southern island of Euboea due to European Union sanctions.

It is reported that the tanker was seized as part of European Union sanctions against Russia due to its attack on Ukraine. However, the vessel was later released due to uncertainty regarding the sanctions on its owners.

The name of this tanker, which previously sailed under the Russian flag, was changed to “Lana” on March 1st, and from the beginning of May, the Iranian flag was raised above it.

The “United Against Nuclear Iran” group in the United States, which opposes Iran’s nuclear program and the revival of the JCPOA and monitors tanker traffic related to Iran, announced that Pegas loaded approximately 700,000 barrels of crude oil from Iran’s Sirri Island on August 19, 2021.

Based on this group’s analysis, previously, Pegas had carried over 3 million barrels of Iranian oil in 2021, with more than 2.6 million barrels of that cargo reaching China.

In 2020, Washington seized four Iranian fuel shipments destined for Venezuela and, with the help of unidentified foreign partners, transferred them to two other vessels. These shipments subsequently reached the United States.

The seizure of these shipments occurred after a regional US court issued an order to seize the cargo in a civil case.

Source: Voice of America