As the Iranian tanker Grace 1 was being released by the Gibraltar authorities, the Gibraltar authorities announced that Iran has provided documents assuring them that Grace 1 was not headed to Syria and will not be heading there in the future.

However, after the release of the tanker, the spokesperson for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s foreign ministry said in response to a question about the assurance that Iran gave Gibraltar about the tanker not heading to Syria: “The Islamic Republic will sell its oil to any old and new customer that it wants.”

He explained that the tanker was not headed for Syria from the start but added: “Even if it was heading for Syria, it was nobody’s business.”

The Gibraltar authorities announced on Thursday that Grace 1 was released only after Iran provided assurances that the tanker was not headed for Syria.

Grace 1 was detained in Gibraltar by British forces for violating EU sanctions against Syria by trying to deliver oil to that country.

On the other hand, the spokesperson for the government of Iran stated that this was “another defeat for the White House and another victory for Iran’s active diplomacy,” claiming this was a victory “without any commitments.”

Ali Fadavi, the deputy commander in chief of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) described the release of Grace 1 as an act of surrender by “all the evil powers in the world against the resistance of the righteous front.”

He continued: “Nobody in the world thought Iran has the power to shoot down an American drone and stop several British ships.”

Fadavi called this a historic lesson to the enemies of Iran and warned them “not to test our operational readiness.”

Rouhani’s chief of staff, Mahmoud Vaezi also told the reporters that Grace 1 was seized by the order of the United States.