Press TV - The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has unveiled a warrant for the seizure of the Iran-operated Grace 1 supertanker a day after Gibraltar�s Supreme Court confirmed the release of the vessel.

On Thursday, Gibraltar�s government announced it was releasing the supertanker seized by British Marines in the Strait of Gibraltar despite pressure from the US for the vessel�s continued detainment.

The warrant unveiled on Friday read, �A seizure warrant and forfeiture complaint were unsealed today in the US District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that Oil Tanker �Grace 1,� all petroleum aboard it and $995,000.00 are subject to forfeiture based on violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), bank fraud statute, and money laundering statute, as well as separately the terrorism forfeiture statute.�

The DOJ also alleged that there had been �a scheme to unlawfully access the US financial system to support illicit shipments to Syria from Iran.�

Britain�s naval forces unlawfully seized the Grace 1 and its cargo of 2.1 million barrels of oil in the Strait of Gibraltar on July 4 under the pretext that the supertanker had been suspected of carrying crude to Syria in violation of the European Union�s unilateral sanctions against the Arab country.

Tehran, however, rejected London�s claim that the tanker was heading to Syria, slamming the seizure as �maritime piracy.�

Following the incident, Spain�s Foreign Ministry reported that the UK had seized the vessel at the request of the US, which has been trying to trouble Iran�s international oil vessels as part of its campaign of economic pressure against the Islamic Republic.

The Gibraltar government had also said the US applied to seize the oil tanker after a report by British media that the vessel�s release was imminent.

Iran�s Ports and Maritime Organization said Tuesday that Britain was expected to soon free the Grace 1, after the two sides exchanged certain documents to pave the way for the supertanker�s release.