Iranian forces seized two Greek tankers in the Gulf on Friday, shortly after Tehran warned it would take "punitive action" against Athens over the confiscation of Iranian oil by the United States from a tanker held off the Greek coast.

"The Revolutionary Guards Navy today seized two Greek tankers for violations in Gulf waters," said a Guards statement, quoted by Iranian state news agency IRNA. It gave no further details and did not say what the alleged violations were.

Greece's foreign ministry said an Iranian navy helicopter landed on Greek flagged vessel Delta Poseidon, which was sailing in international waters, 22 nautical miles from the Iranian shore, and took the crew hostage, among them two Greek citizens.

It said a similar incident took place on another Greek-flagged vessel near Iran, without naming the ship, adding both actions violated international law and Greece had informed its allies, as well as complained to Iran's ambassador in Athens.

Greece-based Delta Tankers, which operates the Delta Poseidon, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Greek authorities last month impounded the Iranian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, near the coast of the southern island of Evia due to European Union sanctions.

The United States later confiscated the Iranian oil cargo held onboard and plans to send it to the United States on another vessel, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The Pegas was later released, but the seizure inflamed tensions at a delicate time, with Iran and world powers seeking to revive a nuclear deal that Washington abandoned under former President Donald Trump in favour of returning sanctions on Iran.

Earlier on Friday, Nour News, which is affiliated to an Iranian state security body, said on Twitter: "Following the seizure of an Iranian tanker by the Greek government and the transfer of its oil to the Americans, #Iran has decided to take punitive action against #Greece."

It did not say what kind of action Iran would take.

The Pegas was among five vessels designated by Washington on Feb. 22 - two days before Russia's invasion of Ukraine - for sanctions against Promsvyazbank, a bank viewed as critical to Russia's defence sector.

It was unclear whether the cargo was impounded because it was Iranian oil or due to the sanctions on the tanker over its Russian links. Iran and Russia face separate U.S. sanctions.

NUCLEAR TALKS

A maritime security source said the other tanker seized on Friday was the Greek-flagged Prudent Warrior. Its operator, Greece-based shipping firm Polembros, told Reuters there had been "an incident" with one of its ships, without elaborating, adding it was "making every effort to resolve the issue."

U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which monitors Iran-related tanker traffic through ship and satellite tracking, said Prudent Warrior was carrying a cargo of Qatari and Iraqi oil, while the Delta Poseidon was loaded with Iraqi oil.

Each vessel was carrying approximately one million barrels, it said.

"This should have direct implications on the JCPOA (Iran nuclear) negotiations and further stalling any chances of reviving a deal," Claire Jungman, chief of staff at UANI, told Reuters.

A spokesperson with the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain said it was aware of the reported seizures and was looking into them.

Also on Friday, Iran summoned an envoy of Switzerland, which represents U.S. interests in Tehran, to protest against the Pegas oil seizure, the Iranian foreign ministry said.

"The Islamic Republic expressed its deep concern over the U.S. government's continued violation of international laws and international maritime conventions," state media quoted the foreign ministry as saying.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment on the oil seizure.

IRNA quoted Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization as saying the tanker had sought refuge along the Greek coast after experiencing technical problems and poor weather. It called the seizure of its cargo was "a clear example of piracy".

SOURCE: REUTERS

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on what it described as a Russian-backed oil smuggling and money laundering network for Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force.

In 2019, Iran seized a British tanker near the Strait of Hormuz for alleged marine violations two weeks after British forces detained an Iranian tanker near Gibraltar, accusing it of shipping oil to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions. Both vessels were later released.

Casts old and new return for more dinosaur misadventures in "Jurassic World Dominion", in a final outing concluding the second trilogy of films in the popular franchise.

The movie is set four years after the destruction of the remote island of Isla Nubar, and dinosaurs roam the entire world, living and hunting among humans.

"Jurassic Park" actors Laura Dern and Sam Neill reprise their roles as paleobotanist Dr Ellie Sattler, now a soil and climate change scientist, and paleontologist Dr Alan Grant, reuniting with their castmate from the 1993 movie Jeff Goldblum, who plays mathematician Dr Ian Malcolm.

The movie sees them join forces with Chris Pratt's animal behaviourist Owen Grady and Bryce Dallas Howard's activist Claire Dearing, who have helmed the more recent "Jurassic World" trilogy of films.

"Both of them (Dern and Neill are) terrific friends... and changed my life for having known them for all these 30 years... We were in a movie that got people's attention and entertained people," Goldblum, who featured in 2018's "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom", told Reuters at a London press event for the movie on Friday.

"And now, for the first time, being reunited on screen and getting a chance to work together under these interesting circumstances with this new cast... what a parade and a cobb salad of lucky teammates for me."

The film, which begins its global cinema roll-out on June 1, features plenty of stunning visual effects showing the dinosaurs living alongside humans. Soon enough, threats emerge.

"What I'm so grateful for and why I felt privileged to come back as Dr Ellie Sattler is it has a deeply rooted environmental message as the entire franchise does, because ultimately it's about corporate greed and previous extinction," Dern said.

 
Howard, whose character was former operations manager at the now closed dinosaur park in the first "Jurassic World" movie, said wrapping up the trilogy which began in 2015 was emotional.

"I cried so much," she said.

"There was some of the actors on my flight home, and they messaged everyone going like, 'Bryce cried the entire 10 hours home.' I'm like, 'I know'."

SOURCE: REUTERS

Rafael Nadal continued his pursuit of a 14th French Open title, cruising past Dutch 26th seed Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the last 16 on Friday.

The 21-time major champion will play Canadian ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime for a place in the quarter-finals, where world number one Novak Djokovic could await him.

Nadal is now 108-3 at Roland Garros in his career.

"I think I played a good match against a good player. I'm very happy to win," said Nadal.

The Spaniard had a break point for 5-0 in the third set, but Van de Zandschulp refused to roll over, winning four of the next five games before Nadal put away his second match point, having saved a break point in between the two.

"You always feel a little bit the nerves to finish the match, so I'm happy to be through in straight sets," said Nadal.

"I think it was my best match of the tournament so far for two-and-a-half sets, so I'm very happy with that."

Nadal has reached at least the fourth round in 17 of 18 visits to Paris, with the exception of 2016 when he withdrew in the third round with a wrist injury.

SOURCE: AFP