Iran seized two Greek tankers in the Arabian Gulf days after its oil shipment was confiscated by the US in Greek waters. Iran's Revolutionary Guard seized the vessels citing violations but they failed to elaborate the 'violations'.
Greece expressed anger at Iran's action calling it piracy. The seizure came after Tehran had warned of punitive actions against Greece as it seized Iranian crude on a Russian ship on the orders of the US.
Greece Asks Its Citizens to Avoid Travelling to Iran
Amid the mounting pressure between the two countries, Greece's Foreign Ministry has asked its citizens to avoid traveling to Iran.
The ministry also protested to the Iranian ambassador over the action calling it a violent seizure and an action that is tantamount to acts of piracy, according to Al Jazeera.
Previously, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned Greek's ambassador on Wednesday, calling the seizure of its oil shipment international banditry, and condemned Greek for surrendering to the US.
Iran Seized Delta Poseidon and Prudent Warrior
The ship-tracking services had confirmed that Ice Energy, a Greek-owned tanker, was stationed close to Russia's Lana ship at a Greek port for the ship-to-ship oil transfer. Greece revealed that on Friday armed men landed on its tankers from Iranian navy helicopters.
Athens maintains that one of its ships Delta Poseidon was sailing in the international waters at the time of seizure. Greece, which lost communication with ships, has also identified the second seized tanker as the Prudent Warrior.
It came after the US seized more than 6,00,000 barrels of Tehran's 'smuggled' crude oil off Greece in a Russian vessel. Lana ship was stranded in Greek waters for weeks as it faced technical issues and poor weather. The ship was anchored at Karystos port, where Tehran claims the vessel didn't receive any help from Greek officials.
The US seized approximately 2 million barrels of Iranian oil in 2021 from a ship off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, and the spoils were reportedly sold for a tidy sum of $110 million, according to Sputnik.