Fine arts university, Research institution in Tehran, Iran

British Royal Marines helped the authorities in Gibraltar seize the ship because of evidence it was heading to Syria in breach of EU sanctions, the BBC reported on Thursday.Spain's acting foreign minister said the seizure of the ship - Grace 1 - was at the US's request.An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman called the actions a "form of piracy".The UK Foreign Office dismissed that as "nonsense".Gibraltar port and law enforcement agencies detained the super tanker and its cargo on Thursday morning with the help of the marines.According to BBC, a team of about 30 marines, from 42 Commando, were flown from the UK to Gibraltar to help, at the request of the Gibraltar government.The first marines to board the Panama-flagged ship descended by rope from a helicopter, as others approached in speed boats. No shots were fired.A defence source described it as a "relatively benign operation" without major incident.However, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi was later quoted as saying the UK's ambassador in Tehran, Robert Macaire, had been summoned over the "illegal seizure" of the tanker.In a brief interview for Iranian TV's Channel Two, Mousavi said the seizure was "a form of piracy" and did not have any legal and international basis. He called for the tanker to be immediately released to continue its journey.He added that "the move indicated that the UK follows the hostile policies of the US, which is unacceptable for the Iranian nation and government".Spain's Acting Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said Spain was studying the circumstances of the action but said it followed "a demand from the US to the UK". Spain disputes British ownership of Gibraltar.White House national security advisor John Bolton said the seizure was "excellent news", saying the tanker laden with oil bound for Syria was violating EU sanctions. He added that the US and its allies would continue to prevent regimes in Tehran and Damascus from "profiting off this illicit trade".( With inputs from IANS )

Fine Arts UniversityFOLLOW

Fine arts university, Latest News

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Berlin on Saturday to demonstrate against alleged human rights violations by Iran with calls being made to topple the government. ...

Iran is expected to further reduce its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) in response to the failure by the European signatories of the treaty to keep up their promise of providing the country with relief from US sanctio ...

Mike Pompeo came in advance for the final round of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's face-to-face meeting with American President Donald Trump. Trump sent him to fix the schedule of the two top leaders' meeting. It was just before June 28 that a bilater ...

France and Iran have agreed to look at conditions for resuming talks to try to save Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers, President Emmanuel Macron said. ...

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called for a special meeting on Iran's nuclear programme next week, days after Tehran breached one of the limits set in a 2015 deal with world powers. ...

Italy's large companies ditched Iran "immediately" after the US reimposed sanctions last year, while small-to-medium-sized firms still want to do business with the Islamic Republic, its Ambassador Hamid Bayat said on Friday. ...

A senior Iranian official said on Friday that Tehran should seize a British oil vessel in case London refuses to release the Iranian oil tanker detained in Gibraltar. ...

Iran has summoned the British ambassador here to complain about what it says was the illegal seizure of an Iranian oil tanker. ...