British commandos seized a supertanker suspected to be smuggling Iranian oil to Syria in a night-time raid that has triggered a diplomatic row between Tehran and the UK.
Hours after the operation at 2am off the coast of Gibraltar, Iran said it would not accept the “illegal” seizure of the tanker and summoned the British ambassador in Tehran to express its objections.
Royal Marines boarded the Grace 1 from a naval helicopter and patrol boats in a joint operation with Gibraltar police. The government in the British overseas territory said it had “reasonable grounds” to believe the Panamanian-flagged vessel, with a capacity of 2m barrels, was violating EU sanctions by shipping crude to the Banyas refinery in Syria.