Pod Save America Hosts Call on Democrats to Cut All Israel Military Aid, No Longer Accept AIPAC Funding
Jews, Israelis Targeted in Austria Amid Surge in Antisemitic Incidents; Local Jewish Community Calls for Action
‘All of Our Strength’: Over 1,000 Pro-Israel Activists Gather in DC for Solidarity Conference
‘Devastated’: Wesley LePatner, Killed in Manhattan Mass Shooting, Was a Jewish Communal, Philanthropic Leader
Sen. Angus King Vows to No Longer Vote for Israel Military Aid Until Gaza Conditions Improve
Europe Won’t Pressure Israel to ‘Commit Suicide’ Amid Gaza Backlash, Palestinian State Push, Says Israeli FM
Israel’s National Soccer Coach Attacked in Athens Before Soccer Fans Chant ‘F–K Israel, Free Palestine’ at Match
New York Judge Sentences Neo-Nazi to 5 Years for Livestreaming Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals
US Pressures Lebanon to Issue Cabinet Decision to Disarm Hezbollah Before Talks Continue
UK Plans to Recognize Palestinian State in September Unless Israel Meets Conditions, Starmer Says
Iranian Tanker Wasn’t Headed to Syria: Iran Deputy Foreign Minister
Error: Contact form not found.
by Reuters and Algemeiner Staff
A British Royal Navy patrol vessel guards the oil supertanker Grace 1, suspected of carrying Iranian crude oil to Syria, as it sits anchored in waters of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, historically claimed by Spain, July 4, 2019. Photo: REUTERS/Jon Nazca.
An Iranian tanker captured by British Royal Marines in Gibraltar was not headed to Syria, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed on Sunday in a press conference broadcast live on state TV.
Royal Marines seized the tanker on Thursday for trying to take oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions, a dramatic intervention described as “maritime robbery” by Araghchi.
The minister said the giant tanker has a capacity of up to two million barrels of oil and that is why it was traveling through the Strait of Gibraltar rather than the Suez Canal.
He did not give information on the tanker’s final destination.
“Despite what the government of England is claiming, the target and destination of this tanker wasn’t Syria,” Araghchi said. “The port that they have named in Syria essentially does not have the capacity for such a supertanker. The target was somewhere else. It was passing through international waters through the Strait of Gibraltar and there is no law that allows England to stop this tanker. In our view the stopping of this ship was maritime robbery and we want this tanker to be freed.”
The government of Gibraltar said on Friday that they had received permission from their supreme court to hold the tanker for fourteen days.
An Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander threatened on Friday to seize a British ship in retaliation.
