tehéran arrested two Greek ships in retaliation for the seizure of an Iranian oil cargo in the Mediteranne Sea transported under Russian pavilion.
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Tension rises again in the waters of the Gulf. Friday, May 27, after a helicopter operation carried out by the naval forces of the revolution guards, the ideological army of Tehran, Iran seized two oil tankers beating Greek pavilion which sailed near its territorial waters after having embarked on the fuel in the Iraqi Bassora Iraqi petroleum terminal.
These raids, which are similar to reprisals of Tehran after a seizure of Iranian oil at sea meditated by the Greek authorities, also highlight the role of Russia in the transport of Iranian crude, the ship seized by Athens being of Russian origin. Tehran and Moscow are both under international sanctions.
Denouncing “acts that are similar to acts of piracy”, Greek diplomacy has called for the immediate release of ships and their crews and warned that seizure would have “particularly negative consequences” in bilateral relations and in those of Iran with the European Union (EU).
The body of revolution guards, which claimed the arrows, accused the oil tankers of violations – not specified – of navigation rules. A website close to the supreme national security council of Iran, Nour News, had warned a few hours earlier on Friday morning that Tehran planned to take “punitive measures” against Greece, which Iran accuses of having helped The United States to seize Iranian oil a month earlier on a ship appointed by the Iranian authorities Lana, and whose owner Tehran claims to be the owner.
The ship has changed six times
On May 25, the Greek maritime authorities announced the seizure of oil, at the request of American justice, in the name of the sanctions that Washington imposed on Iran. The United States suspected the Lana of transporting 600,000 barrels from Iranian crude and navigating in the Mediterranean in the hope of finding a buyer to them.
Tehran reacted strongly, qualifying the seizure of the cargo as “example of piracy”, according to a press release from the Iranian maritime and port organization. The Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs summoned the Greece Embassy’s Officer of the Embassy in Tehran, claiming that the ship “was under the banner of the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
The data of the Marinetraffic maritime activity site showed at the same time what is similar to transhipment of the cargo of the Lana aboard another ship, confirming the seizure of oil. This action, which seems to have precipitated Iranian reprisals, highlights the role of a fourth actor: Russia. The behavior of the Lana and the questions about her identity are indeed typical of ships operating in the shadows, the ship having changed six times since its exploitation, in 2003.
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