“The Islamic Revolution during its forty years has not been the instigator of tension in any battle, however it has not hesitated to respond to bullies and thugs without delay,” Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of the powerful Expediency Discernment Council, tweeted.
“If Britain does not release the Iranian oil tanker, it is the duty of the official bodies in charge to retaliate and seize a British oil tanker.”
Rezaee, the longest serving overall commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), made the comments after US National Security Advisor John Bolton welcomed the seizure of the Grace 1 by British Royal Marines and Gibraltar’s enforcement agencies as “excellent news”.
The Grace 1 was suspected of carrying oil from Iran to the Baniyas refinery in Syria, which has been under EU sanctions since 2014.
Spain has said the seizure of the super tanker came at the request of the US government. However, later authorities in Gibraltar denied that a third party had submitted a request.
"There has been no political request at any time from any Government that the Gibraltar Government should act or not act, on one basis or another," His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar clarified in a statement.
Washington has placed Iran under relentless economic pressure since May last year when Washington withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – also known as the Iran nuclear deal.
Excellent news: UK has detained the supertanker Grace I laden with Iranian oil bound for Syria in violation of EU sanctions. America & our allies will continue to prevent regimes in Tehran & Damascus from profiting off this illicit trade.
— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) July 4, 2019
Despite the US measures, Iran claims its exports are on the rise thanks to various secret methods designed to bypass sanctions.
Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanaganeh said on July 2 his country is working “day and night” to bypass the oil sanctions, but refused to say how much Iran is exporting.
Reuters reports that document found on the Grace 1 show the oil originated from Iraq, but shipping data revealed the cargo was loaded off the coast of Iran.
This is the first time the EU has seized an oil tanker at sea.
The new precedent has also likely sent Tehran a strong message that it should abide by the terms of the nuclear deal, signed by several EU member states, and should refrain from raising the level of uranium enrichment.
In response to the seizure, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the British ambassador Rob Macaire in Tehran for a dressing down on Thursday.
The ministry described the UK’s role in seizing the tanker as “piracy at sea”.
Mostafa Kavakebian, head of Iran-Britain Parliamentary Friendship Group in the Iranian parliament, echoed the foreign ministry on twitter, claiming the “illegal” UK action proved “the empty claim of the Europeans to adhere to the JCPOA.”
Update: 5:35 p.m.
