Saturday , 20 April 2024

Iran tanker Adrian Darya 1 sought by US now off Lebanese coast

Al-Arabia – An Iranian oil tanker pursued by the US that has been traveling across the Mediterranean Sea is now off the coast of Tripoli in northern Lebanon.

The ship-tracking website MarineTraffic.com showed the Adrian Darya 1, formerly known as Grace 1, moving slowly just outside the Lebanese territorial waters, after it had stood off the coast of Syria a day earlier.

The ship’s Automatic Identification System does not show its destination after its mariners onboard previously listed it as ports in Greece and Turkey. Turkey’s foreign minister at one point suggested it would go to Lebanon, something denied by Lebanese officials.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later claimed that it was bound for a refinery in Syria.

The US has warned countries not to accept the Adrian Darya, which carries 2.1 million barrels of crude oil worth some $130 million.

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