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Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Greece said Wednesday it won't allow a controversial Iranian oil tanker to pass through territorial waters on its way to Syria, following a stern warning from the United States. The Adrian Darya-1 tanker, carrying 2 million barrels of oil, was seized in Gibraltar last month and released to Tehran this week -- over the objections of the U.S. government, which believes the vessel is attempting to ship oil to Syria, which would violate sanctions.
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Tuesday, the Trump administration threatened to sanction any nation that aids in the delivery. Wednesday, Greek authorities vowed they wouldn't.
"We want to send a message that we are not willing to facilitate the course of this ship to Syria, Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said.
He added, "we will see what will happen," if the ship arrives at a Greek port.
The tanker, formerly called the Grace 1, listed the port of Kalamata as its next stop, but officials said it's too large for any Greek port to accommodate.
Greek Merchant Marine Minister Ioannis Plakiotakis said Athens has not yet received a request to dock at Kalamata.
Officials in Tehran said they are willing to send naval forces to escort the oil tanker through the Mediterranean Sea.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the tanker is linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, and promised to take "every action we can" to stop it from reaching Syria.
"We want to deny them the resources to continue their horrific terror campaign," he said.
"Anyone who touches it, anyone who supports it, anyone who allows a ship to dock is at risk of receiving sanctions from the United States."
The tanker is too heavy for the port of Baniyas in Syria and the Suez Canal. It has already taken a long route, from Iran through the Persian Gulf and around the entire continent of Africa and to southern Europe.
Officials said they are also monitoring the ship to make sure it doesn't transfer the oil cargo to another vessel.
