LONDON: Britain said Iran had sold the oil cargo of tanker Adrian Darya 1 to Syria, breaking assurances it had given over the vessel which had been detained in Gibraltar for a suspected breach of European Union sanctions.
The vessel, formerly named Grace 1, was seized by British Royal Marine commandos on July 4 on suspicion of being en route to Syria.
Gibraltar released it on Aug. 15 after receiving formal written assurances from Tehran that the ship would not discharge its 2.1 million barrels of oil in Syria.
But Britain's foreign office said in a statement on Tuesday it was clear Iran had breached those assurances and that the oil had been transferred to Syria.
"Iran has shown complete disregard for its own assurances over Adrian Darya 1," foreign minister Dominic Raab said in the statement.
"This sale of oil to (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's) brutal regime is part of a pattern of behaviour by the Government of Iran designed to disrupt regional security."
Britain said it had summoned the Iranian Ambassador to condemn Iran’s actions and would raise the issue at the United Nations later this month.
"Iran’s actions represent an unacceptable violation of international norms," the statement said
Britain summons Iranian ambassador after oil tanker offloads in Syria
Britain summons Iranian ambassador after oil tanker offloads in Syria
- Britain said Iran had unloaded in Syria despite giving reassurances that it would not
- The vessel, formerly named Grace 1, was seized by British Royal Marine commandos on July 4
Somali UN envoy slams Israeli recognition of Somaliland, rejects Palestinian displacement
- Abukar Dahir Osman: Such measures would infringe Somalia’s sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity
- World ‘must stand together against any attempt to alter the demographic composition of the Palestinian territories’
NEW YORK: Somalia has strongly condemned Israel’s recognition of its northwestern region of Somaliland as independent, as well as alleged plans to forcibly transfer Palestinians to Somali territory.
Addressing the UN Security Council, Somali Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman said such measures would blatantly infringe his country’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, and risk entangling the Horn of Africa in the destabilizing dynamics of the Middle East conflict.
He warned that any effort to impose such political realities on the African continent would undermine core principles of international law and set a dangerous precedent.
Osman also categorically rejected any proposals for the forced displacement of Palestinians, whether within or beyond their territories, calling such actions a grave violation of international law amounting to ethnic cleansing.
“The international community must stand together against any attempt to alter the demographic composition of the Palestinian territories by force or coercion,” he said, adding that humanitarian operations in Gaza under the fragile ceasefire are under severe strain, underscoring the need for sustained international support and respect for international law.
