Iran summons British ambassador for "illegal seizure" of an Iranian oil tanker
Iran summoned the British ambassador in Tehran over the "illegal seizure" of an Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar on Thursday, Iranian state TV quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi as saying.
British Royal Marines seized an oil tanker in Gibraltar on Thursday accused of bringing oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions, a dramatic step that could escalate confrontation between the West and Iran.
The Grace 1 tanker was impounded in the British territory at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea after sailing around Africa from Middle East.
Shipping data reviewed by Reuters suggests it had been loaded with Iranian oil off the coast of Iran, although its documents say the oil is from neighbouring Iraq.
The authorities in Gibraltar made no reference to the source of the oil when they seized it under the authority of European sanctions against Syria that have been in place for years.
But the likelihood that the cargo was Iranian drew a link between the incident and a new U.S. effort to halt all global sales of Iranian crude, which Tehran has described as an illegal "economic war" against it.
Published: by Radio NewsHub