TEHRAN – Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday that the release of the Adrian Darya 1 vessel, which was seized by Britain’s naval forces, is not enough and the aggressors must pay damages for the illegal confiscation.

“The length of confiscation would not be compensated with the mere act of releasing, rather, legal proceedings are required to receive damages so as to set an example for all those who violate international rules,” Raisi said, Fars reported.

On July 4, Britain’s naval forces unlawfully seized the Adrian Darya 1 vessel, then known as Grace 1, and its cargo of 2.1 million barrels of oil in the Strait of Gibraltar under the pretext that the supertanker had been suspected of carrying crude to Syria in violation of the European Union’s unilateral sanctions against the Arab country.

Tehran maintained that the supertanker was not bound for Syria and its seizure took place at the behest of the U.S.

On Thursday, Gibraltar’s government announced it was releasing the supertanker despite pressure from the U.S. for the vessel’s continued detainment.

Soon after the announcement, the U.S. Department of Justice unveiled a warrant for the seizure of the ship. Gibraltar, however, knocked back the request.

The tanker left Gibraltar’s waters late on Sunday after the territory’s Justice Ministry rejected a warrant from the U.S. Justice Department seeking its seizure for alleged violations of American sanctions. Gibraltar officials said the territory follows the European Union’s laws, not the U.S.’s.

MH/PA