AN Iranian supertanker with US$130 million worth of light crude oil that the U.S. suspects is tied to a sanctioned organization has left Gibraltar and was heading yesterday east into the Mediterranean Sea, with its next destination reported to be Greece.

The Iran-flagged Adrian Darya 1, previously named Grace 1, set course for Kalamata, Greece, with an estimated arrival of Aug. 25, according to ship tracking service MarineTraffic.

The vessel left Gibraltar late Sunday after having been detained for a month in the British overseas territory for allegedly attempting to breach European Union sanctions on Syria. Gibraltar authorities rejected attempts by the U.S. to seize the oil tanker again, arguing that EU regulations are less strict than U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Gibraltar said it had been assured by Iran that the tanker wouldn’t unload its cargo in Syria. Iranian Government officials have yet to publicly acknowledge the ship’s next destination.

The tanker’s release comes amid a growing confrontation between Iran and the West after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers over a year ago.

Shortly after the tanker’s detention in early July, Iran seized the British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero, which remains held by the Islamic republic.

In a last-ditch effort to stop the release, the U.S. unsealed a warrant Friday to seize the Adrian Darya 1 and its cargo, citing violations of U.S. sanctions as well as money laundering and terrorism statutes.

The unsealed court documents argued that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. is the ship’s true owner.

Authorities in Gibraltar said that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is not designated a terrorist organization under EU, U.K. or Gibraltar law. (SD-Agencies)