This archive report was first published on 19 August 2019.
On August 18, 2019, the Iranian oil tanker, Grace 1, left Gibraltar's waters, six weeks after being impounded by British marines and Gibraltar port officials.
The tanker was seized on July 4, 2019 for allegedly carrying oil to Syria in violation of a European Union embargo.
Iran had detained a British-flagged tanker, the Stena Impero, in the Strait of Hormuz on July 19, 2019, in a tit-for-tat move.
The decision to release the Iranian ship was seen as a sign of easing tensions between Gibraltar, a semiautonomous British territory, London, and Tehran.
On August 15, 2019, Gibraltar ordered the release of the Grace 1, despite a last-minute request from the United States to seize the ship.
The Justice Department had unsealed a warrant issued by a federal court in Washington to seize the tanker, the oil it contains, and nearly $1 million based on statutory violations.
“A network of front companies allegedly laundered millions of dollars in support of such shipments,” said Jessie Liu, the United States attorney for the District of Columbia.
However, Gibraltar's government rejected the American request, stating that the warrant had relied on broad United States sanctions against Iran that were not applicable in the European Union.
Iran's naval commander, Rear Adm. Hossein Khanzadi, said that his country was ready to dispatch its naval fleet to escort the oil tanker, renamed Adrian Darya-1.
