What’s behind the seizure of the Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar?
Iran condemned ‘illegal’ seizure of oil tanker in Gibraltar and demanded its immediate release.
An Iranian oil tanker is at the centre of a growing international dispute.
British marines boarded and seized the ship on Thursday as it was sailing near Gibraltar, a British territory on Spain’s south coast.
The UK believes it was violating European Union sanctions by carrying Iranian oil to Syria.
Spain said it was the United States that ordered the vessel be stopped.
Iran condemned what it called an illegal interception.
So what’s behind this dramatic move? And as tension increases between the US and Iran, is Europe caught between a rock and a hard place?
Presenter: Imran Khan
Guests:
Hassan Ahmadian – Assistant professor of political science at the University of Tehran
Ali Fathollah-Nejad – Visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center
Jeff Stacey – Former US State Department official under President Barack Obama