Simon Henderson is the Baker Senior Fellow and director of the Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy at The Washington Institute, specializing in energy matters and the conservative Arab states of the Persian Gulf.
Articles & Testimony
Thus far, Britain’s willingness to stand firm in the Persian Gulf has been more consequential than Washington’s legal challenge in the Mediterranean Sea.
The first act has ended, and the second act is about to begin. But a lot is going on backstage during the intermission in the legal drama involving an Iranian oil tanker, now renamed the Adrian Darya 1. The tanker was held in the British territory of Gibraltar from July 4 until last week because its oil was destined for an embargoed Syria. Now it is moving towards Greece, and Washington has warned Athens against assisting the tanker in anyway. There appear to be two likely outcomes: Either Iran’s economic and political isolation is increased, or Washington’s sanctions policy suffers an embarrassing setback...