US Official: We Will Take Action Against Anyone Who Helps Iranian Tanker

A US official said on Thursday, August 31st, that the United States will firmly enforce its sanctions to prevent the private sector from assisting the Iranian tanker “Adrian Darya-1”.

This US State Department official told Reuters: “We warn the shipping industry that we will firmly enforce United States sanctions.”

“Adrian Darya 1,” which was seized on July 4th under another name, “Grace-1,” by the Gibraltar government, left the area on Sunday this week after 45 days of detention and is now moving through the Mediterranean Sea.

While it is reported that this Iranian oil supertanker is heading toward Greece, Greece’s Prime Minister says the destination of the Iranian tanker “Adrian Darya 1” is not toward Greek waters.

The US State Department official, who requested anonymity, warned that the United States will take action against any individual or entity that directly or indirectly assists this tanker.

This US official stated: “Everyone in the shipping industry must exercise due diligence and conduct proper assessments to ensure they are not directly or indirectly engaged in trade or facilitating trade for sanctioned parties or sanctioned cargoes.”

Initial reports indicated that this tanker, carrying 2.1 million barrels of oil, was heading toward the Greek port of Kalamata, but Miltiades Varvitsiotis, Deputy Foreign Minister of Greece, said on August 30th that this tanker has not requested docking permission at Greek ports, and in any case, none of the country’s ports have the capacity to accommodate the Iranian supertanker with a length of 330 meters.

The value of this ship’s cargo has been reported as $130 million.

The United States says this tanker is assisting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps by transferring oil to Syria, and the United States designates the Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.

The US Department of Justice announced one day before the supertanker’s detention was lifted that it had requested the Gibraltar government re-seize the Grace-1 tanker for “unlawful use of the US financial system to aid and finance the Revolutionary Guard Corps for the purpose of selling oil to Syria.”

However, the Gibraltar government rejected this request and the supertanker began its movement late Sunday.

Iran says the Islamic Republic has warned the United States about the re-seizure of the Iranian tanker and has cautioned Washington of the “negative consequences” of such action.

Source: Radio Farda