Tuesday20 August 2019 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES 3NAJMEH BOZORGMEHR— TEHRAN
ANDREW ENGLAND— LONDON
As the Iranian tanker seized last month
by British commandos finally set sail
from Gibraltar, the Islamic republic was
in a triumphalist and defiant mood.
Iran’s state-run televisionyesterday
broadcast images of the vessel flying the
national flag while hailing the Islamic
republic’s “victory” over the US and UK.
The judiciary said it would seek com-
pensation to “deliver a lesson” to those
who may attempt to apprehend another
Iranian ship. And the foreign ministry
warned of “heavy consequences” if the
US seized the Grace 1, renamed the
Adrian Darya 1, as the tanker headed
towards Greece.
For more than six weeks, the vessel
had been the focus of the stand-off
between Iran and the west. Now its
release by a Gibraltar court is being used
by the regime as evidence that it can
resist the intense pressure it faces from
Donald Trump’s administration. The
episode is being touted as a vindication
of Tehran’s carefully calibrated strategy
of “resistance,” one that has been
backed by warnings — and actions —
that Tehran will respond to hostile acts.
It is a strategy implemented by Iran’s
Revolutionary Guard, which for dec-
ades has used the threat of alleged for-
eign plots to justify expanding its mili-
tary might and developing regional
proxies. It is the 120,000-strong force —
designated a terrorist organisation bythe US — that is the prime beneficiary of
the Adrian Darya 1’s release as its credi-
bility is boosted by the perceived vic-
tory, Iranians say.
“This victory in Gibraltar showed that
Iran needs the guards’ military author-
ity in the international arena more than
it needs passive diplomacy and futile
negotiations,” said Hamid-Reza
Taraghi, a politician close to hardliners.
“The guards’ revolutionary approach
forces the biggest powers to retreat.”
In the eyes of Iranian politicians, the
tanker was mainly released because the
guards seized a UK-flagged tanker, the
Stena Impero, and its 23-man crew in
retaliation two weeks later.
Gibraltar and Britain have insisted
they apprehended the Iranian tanker
because it was suspected of delivering
2.1m barrels of Iranian crude oil to Syria
in violation of EU sanctions. Tehran
always viewed the move as a sign that
the UK was doing the US’s bidding
as the Trump administration pur-
sues its “maximum pressure”
strategy against the republic.
Tensions have been mounting in
the Gulf since Mr Trump imposed
sweeping sanctions on Iran after
unilaterally withdrawing the
US from the 2015 nuclear
accord that Tehran signed
with world powers.
Britain has remained
in the nuclear deal and
does not support the USsanctions. It said the Iranian tanker’s
fate would be determined by courts in
Gibraltar, a British overseas territory,
and dismissed any talk of a ship swap.
The process was complicated when
Washington submitted a last-minute
bid in Gibraltar to seize the vessel.
Gibraltar rejected the request and said it
had received Tehran’s assurances that
the ship would not go to Syria.
Iran, meanwhile, continues to hold
theStenaImpero.
The Adrian Darya 1’s destination
remains unclear. Mohammad Javad
Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, told
reporters that Tehran “cannot be
very transparent” about the
ship’s destination because of US
sanctions intended to drive
Iran’s oil exports to zero. Tehran
has repeatedly threatened to disrupt
the flow of oil through the vital Strait of
Hormuz if it is unable to export its
crude.
The US bid to seize the ship was based
on its claims that the Iranian vessel was
controlled by the guards. Washingtonalso holds the group responsible for sab-
otage attacks on six tankers in the Gulf
this summer. And it was the guards who
shot down an unmanned American spy
drone in June, a move that prompted the
US to prepare for military strikes
against Iran, only for them to be called
off minutes before launch.
The incidents led diplomats to warn
of the risks of a “miscalculation” trigger-
ing a broader conflagration. But some
Iranians say the guards’ perceived suc-
cesses have made them more secure.
“The guards are so powerful that no
one would dare wage war against Iran,”
said Roya, 32, a housewife. “What they
did with the tanker was impressive.”
Like many other Iranians, she is no
fan of the guards’ policies, particularly
at home. The feared force brutally put
down mass pro-democracy protests in
2009 in which about 100 people died.
Public opprobrium towards the guards
has been exacerbated by allegations
that its members have grown rich
through corrupt deals as the force has
built a sprawling business empire.Iranians have also questioned the
guards’ regional operations. But Iranian
analysts said the benefits of the guards
developing an asymmetrical warfare
capability, through its own forces and
regional proxies, have become evident.
“It is the first time [in centuries] that
Iran is not only militarily involved in
direct confrontations with western
states, but also wins,” said Saeed Laylaz,
a reform-minded analyst.
“The guards’ image at home will
surely be strengthened.”
The guards’ perceived successes also
underline how the US strategy has
emboldened Iranian hardliners and
weakened Hassan Rouhani, the presi-
dent, who previously tried to curb the
force’s influence. The tanker’s release
“is a kind of a victory, not one that has
any real return but one that affects the
powerplay in Iran”, said Emile
Hokayem of the International Institute
for Strategic Studies. “It [Iran’s stand-off
with the west] is a game of chicken and
the Iranians know their rivals are
divided and mostly risk-averse.”Tehran claims
vindication
after Gibraltar
frees oil tanker
Iran says release of vessel shows nation can
resist pressure from Trump administration
Flying the flag:
the Adrian
Darya 1,
formerly the
Grace 1, sets sail
on Sunday.
Below, Iran
foreign minister
Mohammad
Javad Zarif
Marcos Moreno/AP‘Iran needs
the guards’
military
authority
in the
international
arena more
than it needs
passive
diplomacy ’INTERNATIONAL
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