MADRID -- Authorities in Gibraltar said they intercepted a supertanker Thursday that was believed to be breaching European Union sanctions by carrying a shipment of Iranian crude oil to war-ravaged Syria.
A senior Spanish official said the operation was requested by the United States. Iran's state-run Islamic Republic News Agency called the incident "an illegal seizure of an Iranian oil tanker."
Gibraltar port and law enforcement agencies, assisted by British marines, boarded the Grace 1 early Thursday, authorities on the British overseas territory at the tip of Spain said in a statement.
"We have reason to believe that the Grace 1 was carrying its shipment of crude oil to the Banyas Refinery in Syria," Fabian Picardo, chief minister of Gibraltar, said in a statement. "That refinery is the property of an entity that is subject to European Union sanctions against Syria."
The EU and others have imposed sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Assad's government over its crackdown against civilians. The sanctions currently target 270 people and 70 entities.
Some of the world's shipping fleets have defied the sanctions to continue doing business with Iran. Companies that monitor international shipping say the Grace 1 turned off its electronic tracking devices as it sailed into Iranian waters, then turned them on again after leaving -- a tactic often used to evade the sanctions, though ships can still be followed through satellite photography.
On Twitter, U.K. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt praised Gibraltar and the British marines "for this bold move to enforce Syria sanctions." He said they had denied "valuable resources" to the Syrian government.
Spain's caretaker foreign minister, Josep Borrell, said the tanker was stopped by British authorities after a request from the United States.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in a tweet that British Ambassador Rob Macaire was summoned over the "illegal interception" of the ship. Mousavi later called the ship's seizure "odd and destructive."
"It can cause an increase in tensions in the region," he said in a telephone interview on state television Thursday night.
U.S. national security adviser John Bolton tweeted that the ship's seizure was "excellent news."
"America & our allies will continue to prevent regimes in Tehran & Damascus from profiting off this illicit trade," Bolton added.
In Madrid, Borrell told reporters that Spain was assessing the implications of the operation because the detention took place in waters it considers its own.
Britain insists Gibraltar is part of the United Kingdom, but Spain argues that it is not, and the tanker operation risks offending the Spanish.
"We're looking into how this [operation] affects our sovereignty," said Borrell, who was nominated earlier this week to become the EU's foreign-policy chief.
The Gibraltar authorities didn't confirm the origin of the ship's cargo, but Lloyd's List, a publication specializing in maritime affairs, reported this week that the Panama-flagged large carrier was laden with Iranian oil.
According to a U.N. list, the ship is owned by the Singapore-based Grace Tankers Ltd.
The vessel likely carried just over 2 million barrels of Iranian crude oil, the data firm Refinitv said. Tracking data showed that the tanker made a slow trip around the southern tip of Africa before reaching the Mediterranean, it said.
TENSIONS MOUNT
The tanker's detention comes at a particularly sensitive time as tensions between the U.S. and Iran grow over the unraveling of a 2015 nuclear deal, from which President Donald Trump withdrew last year. Trump also has slapped sanctions onto Iran and recently approved the passage of a carrier group, bombers and fighter jets to the Persian Gulf.
In recent days, Iran has broken through the limit the deal put on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium and plans Sunday to boost its enrichment.
The European parties to the nuclear accord, including Britain, have tried to preserve the fraying deal, which had promised economic relief in exchange for limits to Iran's nuclear program.
A spokesman for EU foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini -- a guarantor of the 2015 pact -- said Thursday that "we've called on Iran to reverse these steps and to refrain from further measures that would undermine the nuclear agreement."
Meanwhile, oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz have been targeted in attacks as Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen launch bomb-laden drones into Saudi Arabia. The U.S. has rushed thousands of additional troops, an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers and F-22 fighters to the region, raising fears of a miscalculation sparking a wider conflict. Last month, Iran shot down a U.S. surveillance drone, further stoking those fears.
Iran's intelligence minister said Thursday that any negotiations with the U.S. would have to be approved by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and would require the lifting of U.S. sanctions. Khamenei has until now ruled out talks with the U.S., saying that Washington cannot be trusted.
On Thursday, the Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Information Minister Mahmoud Alavi as saying "if the supreme leader permits, negotiations between Iran and the United States will be held." He added, however, that Tehran would not negotiate under pressure.
There was no immediate reaction to the tanker's detention from Syria, which has suffered severe fuel shortages as a result of the civil war and Western sanctions that have crippled the country's oil industry, once the source of 20% of government revenue.
Iran, which has provided vital military support to Assad, extended a $3 billion credit line for oil supplies beginning in 2013, but the Iranian aid dwindled as Washington restored tough sanctions. In November, the U.S. Treasury Department added a network of Russian and Iranian companies to its blacklist for shipping oil to Syria and warned of "significant risks" for those violating the sanctions.
Picardo, the chief minister of Gibraltar, which has in the past been a transit port for energy shipments without known buyers, said he has informed the EU about developments.
In a statement, the British government welcomed the "firm action" by authorities in Gibraltar.
Information for this article was contributed by Aritz Parra, Jon Gambrell, Zeina Karam, Danica Kirka and staff members of The Associated Press; and by Palko Karasz and Raphael Minder of The New York Times.
A Section on 07/05/2019