While Gibraltar agreed that Iran’s tanker the Grace 1 was free to leave
on Thursday, as of Friday it still hasn’t headed out, with concerns
about their safety in doing so in the face of US efforts.
On Friday, a US District Court judge issued a warrant to seize the Grace 1, as part of an asset forfeiture case against Iran, authorizing US Marshals to seize the tanker and all of the oil aboard.
Gibraltar already rejected US efforts to try to seize the ship legally.
The new warrant accuses the ship of trying to “unlawfully access the US
financial system” by planning to sell the oil.
The Grace 1 needs a new captain as well, as the current captain says he
doesn’t want to command the ship anymore. It’s unclear if this is
because the US is very publicly out to get the ship, or if two months of
seizure in Gibraltar has just convinced him it’s not worth the hassle.
US Court Issues Warrant to Seize Iranian Tanker, Oil From Gibraltar
Gibraltar has agreed that Grace 1 tanker can leave
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
Join the Discussion!
We welcome thoughtful and respectful comments. Hateful language, illegal content, or attacks against Antiwar.com will be removed.
For more details, please see our Comment Policy.
