Irgc English news | Irgc, Latest News & Live Updates in English | English News (Latest English News) at Lokmattimes.com

The United States on Thursday (local time) threatened to impose a visa ban on the crew members, including 24 Indians, of the Iran oil tanker that was released by Gibraltar despite Washington's request not to do so.State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said that the M/T Grace I was assisting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC )-- which the US designates as a Foreign Terrorist Orgsation (FTO) -- by transporting oil from Iran to Syria when it was detained last month."Crew members of vessels assisting the IRGC by transporting oil from Iran may be ineligible for visas or admission to the United States under the terrorism-related inadmissibility grounds in Section 212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act," Ortagus said in a statement."The maritime community should be aware that the US government intends to revoke visas held by members of such crews," the statement read."In the case of the M/T Grace I, we will continue to act consistent with our existing policies concerning those who provide material support to the IRGC," the spokesperson added.The oil tanker was seized off the shore of Gibraltar, a semi-autonomous British territory, by British Royal Marines last month. The UK alleged that Iran breached sanctions by exporting crude oil to Syria.Twenty-four Indian crew members were also onboard Grace 1. In retaliation, Tehran quickly seized the British-flagged tanker, Steno Impero, in the Strait of Hormuz.However, there is no official confirmation whether Iran will also release the Steno Impero. All 24 crew members have also been released, confirmed the Indian government.The Gibraltar government, early in the morning, said that the United States had applied to seize Grace 1.A court in Gibraltar had ruled last month that detained Iran vessel can be held for an additional 30 days, a period which ended on Sunday. The next hearing was scheduled for Thursday morning.However, when the hearing started, a Gibraltar official revealed the US request. The hearing was adjourned until later in the day.Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, who himself is facing sanctions from the US, has termed Washington's request as a "piracy attempt".( With inputs from ANI )

IrgcFOLLOW

Irgc, Latest News

Following Iran's admission that it brought down the Kiev-bound airliner earlier this week unintentionally, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday laid down several demands from Tehran, including compensation for the victim's families and ...

Iran on Saturday admitted that its armed forces had downed the Ukrainian passenger plane near Tehran killing all 176 people on board, adding that it was an "involuntary human error" and those responsible would "immediately" be held accountable. ...

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday called on the US to pull its forces out of region, hours after Iran launched missile attacks on two US military bases in Iraq. ...

A US attack ordered by President Donald Trump has killed Gen Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) elite Quds Force, a move that was met with harsh criticism from Tehran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Al ...

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called the release of an Iranian oil tanker "unfortunate", as the ship which was detained by Gibraltar in July on suspicion of transporting oil to Syria, was on its way to Greece after leaving port in the British ...

An Iranian tanker, which has changed its name from Grace 1 to Adrian Darya-1, detained by Gibraltar since July on suspicion of transporting oil to Syria, was on its way to Greece on Monday after leaving port in the British territory. ...

An Iranian ship, which has changed its name from Grace 1 to Adrian Darya-1, held by Gibraltar since July on suspicion of transporting oil to Syria has left port, media reports said on Monday. ...

The United States on Thursday (local time) threatened to impose a visa ban on the crew members, including 24 Indians, of the Iran oil tanker that was released by Gibraltar despite Washington's request not to do so. ...