US Pompeo says Iran should be punished for Syria oil delivery

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of selling oil from its Adrian Darya tanker to Syria and called on the European Union to act.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

09 October, 2019

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the EU to 'hold Iran accountable' [Getty[

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the European Union (EU) to condemn Iran for alledgedly offloading oil from Iranian supertanker Adrian Darya in Syria.

"Oil from the #AdrianDarya1 has been offloaded in Syria, proving that Iran lied to the UK and Gibraltar. This terrorist oil will fund Assad's war and Iran's sectarian violence," Pompeo tweeted Wednesday.

He added: "EU members should condemn this action, uphold the rule of law, and hold Iran accountable."

The tweet included a picture of Adrian Darya 1 by the Syrian Baniyas Port and Refinery - where British authorities believed it was heading when it stopped the tanker off the coast of Gibraltar in July.

Gibraltar security forces aided by British Royal Marines intercepted the Iranian supertanker, then called Grace 1, off the coast of the British overseas territory on July 4.

Authorites held the tanker on suspicion it was shipping its 2.1 million barrels of oil to Syria in breach of European Union sanctions.

Iran reacted with fury to the seizure, saying it was an act of "piracy". A Gibraltar court ordered its release in mid-August against US objections.


	Adrian Darya's route from Iran to Syria [Click to enlarge]

The UK had received written assurance that the tanker would not transport oil to Syria once released.

But in September the UK accused Iran of breaching these assurances and summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest.

"It is now clear that Iran has breached these assurances and that the oil has been transferred to Syria and (President Bashar al-Assad's) murderous regime," the Foreign Office said.

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Agencies contributed to this report.

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