According to Financial Times (FT) on Wednesday, four days before the US imposed sanctions on an Iranian tanker 'Adrian Darya' suspected of shipping oil to Syria, the vessel’s Indian captain received an unusual email from the top US special envoy for Iran at the US Department of State Brian Hook, offering him cash in exchange for his cooperation with the American officials to seize the Iranian oil tanker.
The Iranian Ambassador to the UK Hamid Baedinejad wrote in a tweet on Wednesday that Iranian Embassy in London has warned the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and its members against the US threats against the Iranian tanker.
The Iranian diplomat said that the US has threatened ports not to provide services to 'Adrian Darya' or ex-Grace 1 in violation of maritime regulations.
He further said that the US threats endanger the international maritime treaties as well as the security of international seas.
In response to the FT story, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, tweeted “having failed at piracy, the US resorts to outright blackmail — deliver us Iran’s oil and receive several million dollars or be sanctioned yourself.”
KI