Iranians, Others Hail Swift Response to ‘Piracy’
TEHRAN -- The swift move by Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) to seize two Greek oil tankers in the Persian Gulf waters has been praised by ordinary Iranians and other users on social media.
It came days after a tanker carrying Iranian oil was seized by Greece in its territorial waters, with officials saying its cargo was being unloaded to another vessel for transfer to the U.S., in a move condemned as an “act of piracy” by Iran.
Iran’s response to the illegal move came barely an hour after Iran’s Nour News, close to the country’s top security body, said “punitive action” would be taken against Greece.
“Iran shows again why it doesn’t pay to be a U.S. slave. This time Greece finds out the hard way,” said a Twitter user, taking a swipe at the Greek government.
Another user, Sara Haj, said the “puppet Greece” forgot that its ships were sailing in Iran when it complied with the U.S. order and seized an Iranian ship.
“The U.S. got the stolen oil, what did you get Greece?” she asked.
Syed Hani Mosavi, another Twitter user, noted that Iran impounded the two Greek ships in the Persian Gulf after Greece seized a Russian-flagged ship carrying Iranian oil on U.S. orders. “Tit for tat policy in face of the western bullying,” he wrote.
Mardonius Gobryas, a Twitter user, said Greeks must realize this all started with “their government bending backward to carry out Washington’s order to steal Iranian oil”, adding that “Greece could have played smarter”.
“What goes around comes around,” Fereshteh Sadeqi tweeted, adding what made Iran angry and led to the seizure of Greek ships was the “transfer of Iranian oil to the U.S.”.
Kudzai Mutisi, a lecturer from South Africa, in a tweet said this is what he liked about the Iranians – “they don’t just let things go”.
“Seems like Greece has forgotten the western criminal globalist oligarchy isn’t really their friends,” tweeted Leyla. “These are the same guys who bankrupted their nation a decade ago when Qatar came to their rescue! Iran made the right move.”
“Greece started piracy” by seizing an Iranian oil tanker first, another user said. “What would it expect Iran to do? This is reciprocity. And of course, this is the consequence of being a vassal state of the U.S.,” he said.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency said the seizure of Greek oil tankers in the Persian Gulf
came during a coordinated operation by the fourth and fifth areas of the IRGC Navy.
It said a total of 17 Greek ships are currently sailing in the Persian Gulf, and their seizure cannot be ruled out if Greece makes another provocative move.
At least nine Greek nationals on board the vessels are currently in the IRGC custody, reports said.
Senior political commentator, Seyed Muhammad Marandi, told Press TV that by seizing the Greek-flagged tankers, Tehran sought to send a message to Washington and its allies, “warning them against harming Iran’s oil trade”.
On Friday, Iran’s foreign ministry summoned the Swiss chargé d’affaires, who represents U.S. interests in Tehran, to protest the seizure of the oil tanker in Greece.
The ministry said it had lodged a protest over the “continued violation of international laws and maritime conventions regarding free navigation and trade by the U.S. administration”.
On Wednesday, Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization in a statement described the Greece government’s move as an “act of piracy” and a “violation of international standards”.