The Iranian oil tanker detained by authorities in Gibraltar has been freed and is heading for Greece, the U.K. territory’s chief minister said Monday.
“The written commitment given by the Iranian government … is that the cargo on board will not be made available to any EU-sanctioned entity,” Fabian Picardo told BBC radio’s “Today” program.
Asked how certain he was that the oil on board the tanker wouldn’t end up in Syria, Picardo said: “If a state with representation at the United Nations like the Islamic Republic of Iran says something in writing, then you expect them to comply with the undertakings that they’ve given. If they don’t, the whole world will see that Iran says something in writing, and then does the complete opposite.”
The tanker, originally called the Grace 1 but renamed the Adrian Darya, was released despite a last-minute intervention by Washington because it didn’t breach EU sanctions, Picardo said.
“I think Gibraltar can be very proud indeed about how it has handled this particularly thorny matter,” Gibraltar’s chief minister said.
Last week, the U.S. issued a warrant for the tanker seized near Gibraltar on suspicions that it was carrying oil to Syria and operated by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The warrant followed a decision earlier in the week by a Gibraltar High Court to release the tanker — despite U.S. pleas — following promises from Tehran that it would not send the vessel to Syria or other places subject to EU sanctions.