Iran's Revolutionary Guards senior commander warned that it could seize a British oil tanker if an Iranian tanker detained in Gibraltar was not immediately released.
انقلاب اسلامی در طول تاریخ چهل ساله خود، در هیچ معرکهای آغازگر تنش نبوده، اما در پاسخ به زورگویان و گردنکشان، تعلل نکرده و تردید به دل راه نداده است. انگلیس اگر #نفتکش_ایرانی را رفع توقیف نکند، وظیفه دستگاههای مسئول، اقدام متقابل و توقیف یک نفتکش انگلیسی است.
— محسن رضایی (@ir_rezaee) July 5, 2019
Earlier in the day, Gibraltar official stated that there are no British Royal Marines on board the detained tanker Grace 1, adding that police and customs officials remained on board.
Official added that the 28-member crew, who have remained on board the supertanker, were mainly Indians with some Pakistanis and Ukrainians; he added that they are being interviewed as witnesses, but not criminals, in an effort to establish the nature of the freight and its final destination.
The Grace 1 vessel was detained on 4 June by Gibraltar police and customs agencies, along with the British Royal Marines.
Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo stated that the government had sufficient evidence that the tanker was transporting crude oil to the Banyas Refinery in Syria.
Picardo said that the refinery belonged to an entity subject to EU sanctions against Syria.
