Iran on Monday announced that the 2.1 million barrels of crude aboard an Iranian oil tanker pursued by the US has been sold to an unnamed buyer as the ship, at the center of a crisis roiling the region, continued its voyage in the Mediterranean Sea.
The announcement by government spokesman Ali Rabiei represent just the latest twist in the saga of the Adrian Darya 1, which had been known as the Grace 1 when authorities seized the vessel off Gibraltar on July 4, on suspicion of breaking European Union sanctions targeting Syria.
The seizure of the ship, and Iran's subsequent seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker, came amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran over the collapse of Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers.
Speaking to journalists Monday in Tehran, Rabiei declined to name the oil's buyer, nor terms for the sale. At market rates, the crude oil aboard the Adrian Darya would be worth about USD 130 million. However, anyone buying it likely would be targeted by US financial sanctions.
"The buyer of the oil decides where its destination is," Rabiei said, adding that the world is "witnessing the wrong policy by the US in monitoring and intervention in others' internal affairs."
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