Detention of Iranian oil tanker: Iran warns Britain not to make any concessions

The Dhaka Times Desk Despite Britain's condition to release an Iranian oil tanker seized off the coast of Jabal al-Tarik or Gibraltar, Iran is adamant in its position. Instead, Iran has warned Britain not to make any concessions.

Iran's ambassador to Britain, Hamid Baidinejad, said that Britain would be given a befitting reply if it did not release the supertanker Grace-One, which was detained in the Strait of Gibraltar. He warned that they will not be given any exemption in this regard.

He gave this warning immediately after British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt's phone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif last Saturday.

In the message given on Twitter, Hamid Baydinejad also said that the mistake made by Britain by illegally detaining the tanker should not be repeated at all. The Iranian ship did not break any laws or customs but Britain did through piracy.

Previously, British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt said that the Iranian oil tanker would be released if it was guaranteed that it would not go to Syria. He also imposed these conditions in a phone conversation with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

After the phone conversation with Zarif, the Iranian ambassador to Britain said in a tweet that the British action will not go unanswered if it fails to release the Iranian oil tanker and cargo.

In a tweet on Saturday, Jeremy Hunt announced that he had a productive phone conversation with Iran's foreign minister. He said Zarif told him Iran wanted to resolve the issue and was not interested in escalating tensions.

However, Zarif also said that Iran will continue to export oil under any circumstances. In a statement, Zarif said the oil tanker was traveling to a legitimate destination in the Eastern Mediterranean. Now Britain should leave it quickly.

It should be noted that the ship was seized by the British Navy from the coast of Jabal Al-Tarik on July 4. They claimed that the tanker was carrying oil to a refinery in Syria in violation of European Union sanctions.

However, Tehran has strongly protested this incident. Calling the seizure of the tanker a piracy, Iran has also threatened to take countermeasures if it is not released.

A British oil tanker has already been chased by several Iranian armed gunboats. Police in Jabal Al-Tarik arrested the captain and chief officer of the oil tanker. In the early part of the day on Friday, they informed about the detention of 2 more people of that tanker, but after a few hours they released the 4 people.