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Satellite images show 'Iranian oil tanker sought by US near Syrian port'

The US has been attempting to seize the Adrian Darya-1 as part of its sanctions targeting the Iranian energy industry.

The Adrian Darya-1 seemingly shown by satellite images near Syria
Image: The images purportedly show the Adrian Darya-1 near Syria
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An Iranian oil tanker being pursued by the US appears to have been spotted in satellite images stationed near a port in Syria.

The Adrian Darya-1, which was carrying 2.1 million barrels of crude oil worth about $130m (£108.4m), has been in the sights of Washington as a result of sanctions targeting the Iranian energy industry.

Speculation has been rife that the vessel - formerly known as Grace 1 - was Syria-bound since it switched off its tracking system earlier this week, but Iranian officials have not acknowledged those reports.

The ship was seen near the Syrian port of Tartus
Image: The ship was seen near the Syrian port of Tartus

The satellite pictures, obtained by The Associated Press from Maxar Technologies on Saturday morning, matched a black-and-white image previously tweeted by US national security adviser John Bolton.

Mr Bolton wrote: "Anyone who said the Adrian Darya-1 wasn't headed to Syria is in denial."

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said that intelligence suggested the tanker was heading to Tartus, which is a short distance from its last-known position - 45 nautical miles (83km) off the coast of Lebanon and Syria.

Ship-tracking website MarineTraffic.com said it switched off its automatic identification system on Monday.

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The vessel's disappearance follows a pattern of Iranian oil tankers turning off their tracking systems in an attempt to hide where they deliver their cargo amid American efforts to seize them.

The US alleged in federal court that the ship is owned by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, a paramilitary organisation answerable only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Washington recently labelled the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation, a designation that gives it greater power to pursue seizing its assets.

US officials have since urged countries not to help the vessel, which was held by the British Royal Marines in Gibraltar for several weeks back in July.

It was seized there over concerns it would break sanctions on Syria by delivering oil to the country, and led to Iran detaining the British-flagged Stena Impero in the Gulf.

The Adrian Darya-1 was later released when they received a promise from Iran that the vessel would not go there, but crew from the Stena Impero were only let go a few days ago.

An Iranian flag flutters on board the Adrian Darya oil tanker, formerly known as Grace 1, off the coast of Gibraltar
Image: An Iranian flag flutters on board the Adrian Darya oil tanker, off the coast of Gibraltar
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Suspicions that the Adrian Darya-1 was heading for Syria were based on the fact that Syria has historically taken about one million barrels of crude oil a month from Iran.

Turkey had been ruled out as a possible destination as it has stopped taking Iranian crude oil.

While Iranian officials have not commented on the disappearance of Adrian Darya-1, they have said that its cargo has been sold to an as-yet unknown buyer.

The tanker has been renamed the Adrian Darya-1
Image: The tanker was renamed from Grace 1
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US attempts to track down the ship have only served to exacerbate tensions between the two nations, which have been high since Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which is still backed by Britain, France, the EU and others, was designed to ensure nuclear development in Iran was "exclusively peaceful" and allow for sanctions to be put in place if it was found to be building weapons.

It had been viewed as the key foreign policy achievement of the Barack Obama administration, but Mr Trump withdrew from the agreement last year.

The US has since hit the Iranian economy with new sanctions blocking it from selling crude oil abroad.