Iranian tanker spotted off Syrian port despite assurances Tehran would not flout EU sanctions.

[Guest]

- An Iranian tanker that sparked a diplomatic standoff between Tehran and western states has been spotted off the coast of Syria according to US officials – despite assurances the vessel would not deliver its 2.1 million barrels of crude oil to the country. British royal marine commandos had previously detained the Adrian Darya 1 – then called the Grace 1 – off the coast of Gibraltar in July amid concerns it was being used to transport crude oil to Syria, sidestepping European Union sanctions on the country. The vessel was released following written assurances from Tehran that it would not deliver the oil to the country.

- However, after appearing to have turned off radio trackers in the eastern Mediterranean on Monday, satellite imagery has shown the vessel two nautical miles from the port of Tartus, western Syria, according to US officials. Donald Trump's National Security Advisor John Bolton has since claimed that those who had believed the ship would not continue on to the country were “in denial”, following a continued campaign from Washington to seize the vessel. The US Treasury Department blacklisted the tanker on Friday after warnings from Washington that any nation assisting the Adrian Darya 1 would be viewed as showing support for a terror organisation – specifically Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Writing on Twitter, Mr Bolton added: “Tehran thinks it’s more important to fund the murderous Assad regime than provide for its own people. We can talk, but Iran’s not getting any sanctions relief until it stops lying and spreading terror”.

- The detaining of the vessel by UK authorities became a flash point in tensions between Iran, the US and the EU as the Middle Eastern state looks to fight back against tough sanctions levied by Washington after the breakdown of the Iran nuclear deal. In an apparent show of retaliation for the Adrian Darya’s detention in Gibraltar, Iran seized a British-flagged tanker, the Stena Impero, two weeks later for alleged marine violations. So far the state has released seven of the ship’s crew, with a further 16 still left aboard. And on Saturday the Iranian coast guard seized a vessel carrying 284,000 litres of diesel for allegedly smuggling fuel in the Gulf, detaining 12 crew members from the Philippines in the process. The nation has been fighting rampant smuggling heightened by the decline of the Iranian Rial and the low price of fuel brought about by heavy state subsidies introduced to keep the nation competitive amidst international pressure.

 

Satellite imagery appears to show the once-detained Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya-1 near the Syrian port, despite U.S. efforts to seize the vessel 

 

From The Independent

Edited September 8, 2019 by Guest

[Douglas Buckland + 6,308]

Guess a torpedo is out of the question, the tree huggers would go nuts!😂 

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

4 hours ago, DayTrader said:

An Iranian tanker that sparked a diplomatic standoff between Tehran and western states has been spotted off the coast of Syria according to US officials – despite assurances the vessel would not deliver its 2.1 million barrels of crude oil to the country.

Iran's assurances remind me of China's assurances that it makes to other countries.  I remain skeptical of any and all assurances promised by the governments of Iran and China.  Your mileage may vary.

[kshithij Sharma + 78]

1 hour ago, Tom Kirkman said:

Iran's assurances remind me of China's assurances that it makes to other countries.  I remain skeptical of any and all assurances promised by the governments of Iran and China.  Your mileage may vary.

What assurances made by China has been broken by China? I generally tend to think Chinese as being more honest than many other states

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

15 minutes ago, kshithij Sharma said:

What assurances made by China has been broken by China? I generally tend to think Chinese as being more honest than many other states

Here's a recent one, for starters:

https://community.oilprice.com/topic/6591-trump-vs-xi-trade-battle-running-commentary-from-conservative-tree-house/?page=5#comment-64688

 

[Douglas Buckland + 6,308]

48 minutes ago, kshithij Sharma said:

What assurances made by China has been broken by China? I generally tend to think Chinese as being more honest than many other states

Ask the countries who ‘share’ the South China Sea with China...

[Guest]

If you remove a bunch of clauses the second before a deal is completed then yeah, I guess they haven't broken any ''assurances''. They just can't be trusted and their word means nothing. Let's word it that way. 

Edited September 8, 2019 by Guest

[Zhong Lu + 845]

7 hours ago, kshithij Sharma said:

What assurances made by China has been broken by China? I generally tend to think Chinese as being more honest than many other states

Um. Depends on who you ask.  

[Douglas Buckland + 6,308]

10 hours ago, Zhong Lu said:

Um. Depends on who you ask.  

No, it depends on the historical record.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Douglas Buckland said:

it depends on the historical record.

I assume he meant China would say they haven't broken assurances. But yes I agree. 

Edited September 9, 2019 by Guest

[Zhong Lu + 845]

The Chinese government has kept its promises to certain groups, and broken promises to other groups.  Iran, the Venezuelan government, and most of Africa would consider China to be a reliable partner.  The US and SE Asia not so much.  

Edited September 9, 2019 by Zhong Lu