Iran says forces seized two Greek tankers, Athens resists ‘theft’

DUBAI/Athens: Iranian forces seized two Greek tankers in the Gulf on Friday, Iranian state media reported, shortly after Tehran warned it would take “punitive action” against Athens unless a move away from Greece Iranian oil was confiscated by the US from the tanker. Coast.
“The Revolutionary Guards Navy today seized two Greek tankers for breaches in Gulf waters,” a Guard statement quoted by state news agency IRNA said.
It did not provide any further details or what the alleged violations were.
Greece’s foreign ministry said it made a strong demarcation to the Iranian ambassador in Athens on “violently taking possession of two Greek-flagged ships” in the Arabian Gulf.
“These actions are tantamount to acts of piracy,” the foreign ministry said in a statement, warning Greek citizens to avoid travel to Iran.
The ministry called for the immediate release of the ships and their crew, and said these acts would have “particularly negative consequences” on bilateral relations and Iran’s relations with the European Union, of which Greece is a member.
Earlier on Friday, an Iranian helicopter landed on the Greek-flagged Delta Poseidon in international waters, about 22 nautical miles off the coast of Iran, the ministry statement said.
“The armed men then took the crew captive,” it said, adding that two Greek civilians were among the crew.
“A similar incident has been reported on another Greek-flagged ship carrying seven Greek nationals, which was close to the coast of Iran,” the ministry said.
It said one of the ships was Delta Poseidon, while a spokesman for the Athens-based company Polembros identified the other tanker as the Prudent Warrior.
A Greek official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the details of the attack with a journalist, identified the other ship as the Prudent Warrior. Its owner in Greece, Polembros Shipping, previously said that the company is “cooperating with the authorities and making every effort to effectively address the situation.”
The ministry said there were nine Greeks in the crew of both ships, but they did not let many other sailors on board.
A US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said the two ships appeared to have come close – but did not – before heading into Iranian waters on Friday. . The official said the ships had also turned off their tracking devices, another red flag. However, there was neither a May Day issue nor a call for help, the official said.
Iran threatened “punitive action” earlier on Friday over Athens’ involvement in the US seizure of an Iranian oil tanker in Greek waters.
Iran’s Noor News website, which is close to its security services, threatened, as did shipping news site Lloyd’s List that said it believed two Greek tankers were seized in the Arabian Gulf. Citing anonymous industry sources, Lloyds reported that the two ships were on board after Iranian military helicopters reached them on Friday afternoon. It said both tankers had just been carrying Iraqi crude.
Greek authorities last month confiscated the Iranian-flagged Pegas, along with 19 Russian crew members, off the coast of the southern island of Evia due to EU sanctions.
Washington later confiscated Iranian oil cargo onboard and plans to send it to the United States on another vessel, Reuters reported on Thursday.
Pegas was later abandoned due to confusion about restrictions on its owners.
Five ships were among the five ships designated by Washington on February 22 – two days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – for sanctions against Promsvizbank, a bank considered important to Russia’s defense sector.
It was not clear whether the cargo was seized because it was Iranian oil or because of the tanker’s ban on its Russian links. Iran and Russia are facing separate US sanctions.
Also on Friday, Iran called an envoy from Switzerland to protest against the Pegas oil seizure, which represents US interests in Tehran, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“The Islamic Republic expresses its deep concern at the continuing violation of international law and international maritime conventions by the US government,” state media quoted the State Department as saying.
A spokesman for the US Justice Department declined to comment on the oil seizure.
IRNA quoted Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization as saying that the tanker had taken refuge off the Greek coast after experiencing technical problems and inclement weather. It called the seizure of its goods “a clear example of theft”.
The US on Wednesday imposed sanctions on what it described as a Russian-backed oil smuggling and money laundering network for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Quds Force.
In 2019, Iran seized a British tanker near the Strait of Hormuz for alleged maritime violations, two weeks after detaining an Iranian tanker near Gibraltar, accusing it of sending oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions. took. Both ships were later abandoned.
(Reuters, with AP and AFP)