GIBRALTAR: Iranian supertanker Grace 1 is seen off the coast of Gibraltar on Aug 15, 2019. - AFP

GIBRALTAR: A
last-minute US warrant to seize an Iranian oil tanker preparing to leave
Gibraltar after weeks of detention cast doubt over its departure yesterday,
prolonging a diplomatic spat between Tehran, London and Washington. The US
Justice Department alleged the ship was part of a scheme "to unlawfully
access the US financial system to support illicit shipments to Syria from Iran
by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," which Washington has designated
a foreign terrorist organization. There was no comment from Britain or
Gibraltar, its overseas territory.

Any detention
order would ultimately have to come from Gibraltar's Supreme Court. So far,
that has not happened and the ship is still free to sail. Richard de la Rosa,
managing director of Astralship, the vessel's shipping agent, told AFP the ship
was preparing for departure. "Within the next two days, she'll be
going," he said. "They're performing crew changes. She needs some
reprovisioning," he said, adding new Indian and Ukrainian crewmembers were
due to arrive today.

Gibraltar seized
the ship on July 4 on suspicion it was transporting oil to Syria in breach of
European Union sanctions, triggering a sharp deterioration in relations between
Tehran and London. Iran has repeatedly denied this. Iran subsequently detained
the British-flagged tanker Stena Impero in what was seen as a tit-for-tat move.
On Thursday, Gibraltar's Supreme Court ordered the tanker released after the
British overseas territory said it had received assurances from Iran that the
Grace 1 would not head to any country subject to EU sanctions.

But in a
last-minute twist on Friday, the United States, which is at loggerheads with
Iran, issued the warrant. It says the vessel and all the oil aboard are subject
to forfeiture based on violations of US sanctions. It also cites violations of
bank fraud, money laundering and terrorism statutes. The US State Department
has also threatened to issue a visa ban on anyone working on the ship.

The US move comes
after it tried - and failed - to block the tanker's release on Thursday. The
July 4 seizure came amid surging tensions in the Gulf after several alleged
Iranian attacks on smaller tankers. The US - citing Tehran's threat to American
allies - expanded its military presence in the region with a new aircraft
carrier task force, missile batteries and strategic bombers. Iran called the
detention of the Grace 1 an "illegal interception" staged by the
United States, while Washington cheered it as "excellent news".

Ties between
Tehran and Washington are at a low point since US President Donald Trump
withdrew last year from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between major powers and
Iran, reimposing crippling unilateral sanctions. On Friday, Iranian officials
said the tanker was preparing to set sail under an Iranian flag and would be
renamed the Adrian Darya for the voyage. Tehran also denied it had made any
promises about the ship's destination to secure the release.

"Iran has
given no assurances over the Grace 1 not going to Syria to secure its
release," a state media website quoted foreign ministry spokesman Abbas
Mousavi as saying. "The tanker's destination was not Syria... and even if
it was, it did not concern anyone else." But Gibraltar insisted it was.
Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said Gibraltar had deprived the Syrian regime of
Bashar Al-Assad of around $140 million worth of crude oil, according to a
government statement. - AFP