Iran, UK and the EU sanctions
The escalation in the Gulf continues. After Great Britain, Iran has now also arrested a tanker – apparently in retaliation for a British seizure off Gibraltar. And what is the EU doing?
The Europeans are showing solidarity with the British. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that the situation in the Gulf had become “even more serious and dangerous” as a result of the Iranian action.
“It’s about preventing war,” the SPD politician stressed.
If he means that seriously, then he would also have to admonish the British. For weeks they have been doing everything they can to fuel the conflict with Iran – and to draw the EU into it.
It began with the confiscation of an Iranian tanker off Gibraltar. Allegedly the British struck because the ship wanted to undermine EU sanctions against Syria.
But these EU sanctions only apply to Syria – and not to other countries. In contrast to the US sanctions, the European sanctions do not have an “extraterritorial” effect.
So the British cannot invoke EU law if they detain the Iranian tanker. If the EU leaders were to say this out loud, they would not only be more credible.
They could also really do something for peace…
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
Kwasir
31. Juli 2019 @ 11:11
These days there is a lot of policy statements that I would qualify as warmongering (threat of vital interest, global security at stake, welfare and economic growth/jobs at stake, state ‚piracy‘ etc.). There is tough very little of information available to the general public about the circumstances of ’seizing‘ the Grace 1 tanker (deployment of British troops) ‚east of Gibraltar‘ (open sea ?). Gibraltar gov. acting on its own or instructions (by whom – US) pretending EU sanctions had to be enforced. Sanctions provide for an oil embargo on Syria’s oil EXPORTS not imports. Shipping crude oil around Cape of Good Hope – why not through Suez ? Crude oil to be processed in the refinery close to Banyias ? For Syria’s use or re-export to third countries ? Why no exchange of the two tankers as proposed by Iran.
Is it really a question of safe dailing of EU vessels (how many ships have so far been captured, supply of which goods interrupted ..) or rather an issue of US-Iran relations ? If so, does the EU still have the freedom of action or do ubiquitarian US sanctions prevail ?