Iran seizes 2 Greek oil tankers
“The Revolutionary Guard Navy today seized two Greek oil tankers for violations in the waters of the Gulf,” state news agency IRNA quoted the Iranian Guard as saying.
Iran did not provide further details about the Greek ships seized or say what the alleged violations were.
According to the Tehran Times, the two Greek ships seized were the Delta Poseidon at Asalouyeh port, while the Prudent Warrior was detained at Bandar Lengeh port. The Navy Guards arrested the Greek ships as they were slowly carrying goods from Basrah, Iraq, in which the Prudent Warrior was carrying oil for the United States.
Last month, Greek authorities seized the Iranian-flagged Pegas near the southern coast of Evia island due to EU sanctions. On board the Pegas were 19 Russian crew members.
America seized oil on board the Pegas and planned to send the oil to the US by another ship, Reuters reported. The Pegas was later released.
Before the news that Iran had seized two Greek ships, Nour News, a part of Iran’s state security agency, posted on Twitter: “After the Greek government seized an Iranian oil tanker and transferred their oil to the Americans. Iran decided to take sanctions against Greece”.
The Pegas ship was among five ships designated by the US in connection with sanctions against Promsvyazbank – a bank considered important to Russia’s defense sector on February 22, two days before Russia launched a military operation in the country. Ukraine.
It is not clear whether the cargo was detained because it was Iranian oil or because of sanctions on the vessel linked to Russia. Iran and Russia both face US sanctions.
Also on May 27, Iran summoned an envoy of Switzerland – the country representing US interests in Tehran, to protest against the seizure of oil on the Pegas, the Iranian Foreign Ministry reported.
According to Iran’s Maritime and Port Organization, the Pegas tanker entered the Greek coast after experiencing technical problems and bad weather.
In 2019, Iran seized a British oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz for alleged maritime violations for a period of two weeks after British forces seized an Iranian oil tanker near Gibraltar for allegedly transporting oil to Syria. violate the sanctions of EU. Both ships were later released.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: laodong.vn – Read the original article here