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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/15/us-moves-to-block-release-of-iranian-vessel-in-gibraltar
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| US moves to block release of Iranian vessel in Gibraltar | US moves to block release of Iranian vessel in Gibraltar |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| The US has applied to a court in Gibraltar to seize an Iranian tanker detained for breaching international sanctions on oil shipments, thwarting efforts by authorities in London and the British overseas territory to defuse tensions with Tehran. | |
| The Gibraltar government confirmed earlier media reports that the US Department of Justice had sought to extend the detention of the oil tanker Grace 1, prompting the supreme court in the territory to adjourn a scheduled decision on whether to release the ship until later in the day. | |
| “The US Department of Justice has applied to seize the Grace 1 on a number of allegations which are now being considered,” the government said in a statement, adding that the matter would be reviewed by the court at 4pm (1400 GMT). | |
| The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Britain’s Foreign Office said in a statement that the “investigations conducted around the Grace 1 are a matter for the government of Gibraltar” and that it could not comment further as the investigation was ongoing. | |
| Grace 1 was seized by British Royal Marines off Gibraltar on 4 July on suspicion that it was taking 2.1m barrels of oil to Syria in breach of an EU arms embargo. | Grace 1 was seized by British Royal Marines off Gibraltar on 4 July on suspicion that it was taking 2.1m barrels of oil to Syria in breach of an EU arms embargo. |
| The seizure led to reprisals by Iran, including the capture of the British-flagged Stena Impero. Both incidents fuelled worsening hostilities between Iran and the west that began when Washington pulled out of an international agreement curbing Iran’s nuclear programme last year and reimposed economic sanctions. | The seizure led to reprisals by Iran, including the capture of the British-flagged Stena Impero. Both incidents fuelled worsening hostilities between Iran and the west that began when Washington pulled out of an international agreement curbing Iran’s nuclear programme last year and reimposed economic sanctions. |
| In a separate development, the Gibraltar Chronicle reported that the captain and three officers of the Grace 1 had been released from arrest on Thursday. A Gibraltar government spokesman declined to comment. | |
| Speaking in court, Chief Justice Anthony Dudley said that were it not for the US move, “the ship would have sailed”, the Chronicle reported. | |
| John Bolton, the hawkish US national security adviser, had two days of meetings in London this week with key figures in Boris Johnson’s government, as the US pitches to steer a post-Brexit UK further away from Europe on a range of issues including the Iran nuclear deal and the role of the Chinese technology firm Huawei. | |
| Bolton is hoping that a Johnson administration will gradually adopt a foreign policy on Iran more independent of its two former EU partners Germany and France after Brexit, and closer to the policy of maximum economic pressure on Tehran imposed by Trump. | |
| Earlier this month, Iran accused the US of engaging in “economic terrorism” against its people. The Iranian foreign secretary, Mohammad Javad Zarif, also warned Britain that acting in concert with the Trump administration would bring about a response from Tehran. | |
| During a briefing Zarif accused the US of seeking “to tie the ‘bread’ to ‘politics’” and added: “Britain is an accomplice in US economic terrorism, and this complicity will definitely bring about consequences for them.” | |
| Associated Press contributed to this report | |
| Iran | Iran |
| Middle East and North Africa | Middle East and North Africa |
| US foreign policy | US foreign policy |
| Foreign policy | Foreign policy |
| Gibraltar | Gibraltar |
| Europe | Europe |
| news | news |
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