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U.S.
Navy Intercepts Third Iranian Oil Tanker In Two Week
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| The
behavior of U.S. marines contravenes all international conventions on
navigation laws. |
TEHRAN,
March 6 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf
intercepted an oil tanker, leased by the Iranian National Oil Company (NIOC) for
the third time in the two weeks, press reports stated Wednesday.
U.S.
forces boarded and intercepted the vessel ‘Sandy’ Sunday, March 3, for seven
hours, and interrogated its Indian crewmembers, the Persian daily newspaper,
Toss'e, cited an informed source as saying. Hours later, the vessel was released
and headed for the Abadan port.
"The
Sandy was carrying unleaded petrol to the port of Abadan in southern Iran when
it was intercepted by the American navy," reformist daily Noruz quoted
local authorities as saying Tuesday, March 5.
"The
Indian crew were interrogated and the tanker was inspected for seven hours by
the U.S. Navy," the paper said.
The
behavior of U.S. marines “contravene[s] all international conventions on
navigation laws," the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted Iranian
sources as saying.
U.S.
warships last week intercepted two Iranian vessels inside the country’s waters
in northern Persian Gulf and released them after five hours, said IRNA.
The
Sandy, with a capacity of 25,000 tons is registered in Belize, but is chartered
by Iran to transport oil products in the Gulf.
It
was intercepted for the first time December 19, 2001, by the U.S. Navy in the
Gulf as it was heading to an Iranian port. As a result, the Islamic Republic of
Iran lodged a formal notice to the Swiss embassy, which looks after American
interests in Iran, asking for a "convincing explanation" from the
United States over the interception of an Iranian oil tanker in the Persian
Gulf.
The notice denounced the U.S. Navy's interception of the Iranian ship as
"contrary to international conventions" and demanded the American
government to "take measures at the earliest over the compensation of the
incurred damage."
Iran
said at the time the crew were mistreated by U.S. sailors, whose
"aggressive behavior was against international marine law".
According
to the navy, the interception resulted in one "minor injury" among the
Iranian crew. The wounded man was “treated by an American medical team” and
released.
Tehran
and Washington have held no diplomatic relations after the 1979 Islamic
Revolution, when the Students Following the Line of Imam Khomeini captured the
American embassy, known as the 'den of spies', in Tehran.
Meanwhile,
a high-ranking Iranian official warned the United States Tuesday that military
"aggression" against Iran would create "an anti-American and
anti-Western climate in the whole region".
Hassan
Ruhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, speaking on the
first day of a conference on the Gulf region, also referred to the threat to oil
supplies from a regional conflict.
"War
in the Middle East and Persian Gulf will seriously affect the security of the
whole region, the security of oil supplies, which will be detrimental to Europe
and Japan," he told an audience of hundreds of diplomats, officials and
specialists.
The
United States has lumped Iran with Iraq and North Korea in an "axis of
evil", hinting that it could be the target of a future attack as part of
the so-called "war on terrorism."
"Illogical
U.S. measures against Iran will result in radicalization in the Middle East
region and Islamic world which will seriously harm the United States in the
Islamic world in future," said Ruhani.
"Iran
is not after a war with the United States or any other country. But if a war is
ever imposed on Iran and it comes under aggression, our defense would be
unlimited and very costly for the enemy," he said.
Iran's
President Mohammad Khatami – in a message to the conference – said that
"terrorism, discrimination, poverty, despotism and hegemony are terrible
human catastrophes in the world".
"We
need more than ever to encourage human values among different countries,” the
Iranian President said. “The language of terror and violence cannot reduce the
existing problems but will create gaps between countries and peoples."
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