US warns Greece not to assist Iranian tanker

The US has warned that any assistance given to the Iranian-flagged oil tanker recently released by Gibraltar would be considered as support for terrorism.

The tanker is thought to be heading for Greece, but Greek Maritime Minister Ioannis Plakiotakis said it has not yet officially requested permission to dock.

The Adrian Darya 1, formerly named Grace 1, was seized by British Royal Marines on July 4 in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of the British territory of Gibraltar over suspicions that it was carrying Iranian oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions.

The US has now warned Greece and other nations that it would view any assistance offered to the tanker as support for terrorism.

“We have conveyed our strong position to the Greek government on the matter, as well as all ports in the Mediterranean that should be forewarned about facilitating this vessel,” a US State Department official said.

After the tanker left Gibraltar on Sunday evening, the US issued a warrant to seize the vessel, which was rejected by the British territory’s authorities. Gibraltar argued that US sanctions against Iran do not apply in the EU.

Via WSJ/Reuters