British special forces seize oil tanker for busting Syria sanctions

British special forces seized a supertanker off Gibraltar suspected of carrying Iranian oil to Syria in violation of European and US sanctions against the war-torn country. Grace 1, which can hold 2 million barrels of crude, is now anchored near Gibraltar, a British overseas territory in southern Spain that controls the strait between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

The vessel is registered in Panama. The seizure, announced by Gibraltar’s government, could inflame tensions between Iran and the EU just as the UK, France and Germany try to keep the Islamic Republic from walking away from the nuclear deal. The US quit the pact a year ago prompting Iran to significantly increase uranium enrichment in response.

While Syrians will feel the immediate impact of halting the crucial oil shipment to the country, the arrested vessel shows the difficulty Iran faces in finding outlets for its crude as President Donald Trump’s administration ramps up sanctions.