MADRID -- Authorities in Gibraltar said they intercepted an Iranian supertanker Thursday that was believed to be breaching European Union sanctions by carrying a shipment of Tehran's crude oil to war-ravaged Syria.

A senior Spanish official said the operation was requested by the United States. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency called the incident "an illegal seizure of an Iranian oil tanker."

Gibraltar port and law enforcement agencies, assisted by Britain's Royal Marines, boarded the Grace 1 early Thursday, authorities on the British overseas territory at the tip of Spain said in a statement.


The EU and others have imposed sanctions on Assad's government over its continued crackdown against civilians. They currently target 270 people and 70 entities.


Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in a tweet that British Ambassador Rob Macaire was summoned over the "illegal interception" of the ship. Mousavi later called the ship's seizure "odd and destructive."

"It can cause an increase in tensions in the region," he said in a live telephone interview on state television Thursday night.

U.S. national security adviser John Bolton tweeted that the ship's seizure was "excellent news."




"We're looking into how this (operation) affects our sovereignty," said Borrell, who was nominated earlier this week to become the EU's foreign policy chief.

The Gibraltar authorities didn't confirm the origin of the ship's cargo but Lloyd's List, a publication specializing in maritime affairs, reported this week that the Panama-flagged large carrier was laden with Iranian oil.






On Thursday, the official IRNA news agency quoted Information Minister Mahmoud Alavi as saying "if the supreme leader permits, negotiations between Iran and the United States will be held." He added, however, that Tehran would not negotiate under pressure.

There was no immediate reaction to the tanker's detention from Syria, which has suffered severe fuel shortages as a result of the civil war and Western sanctions that have crippled the country's oil industry, once the source of 20 per cent of government revenues.



In a statement, the British government welcomed the "firm action" by authorities in Gibraltar.

