Tehran has vowed to take reciprocal steps after British authorities last week seized a tanker while it was passing Gibraltar under the pretext that it was carrying Iranian oil to Syria. London claims that it had the right to do so, as the tanker was allegedly violating the sanctions regime imposed by the EU on Damascus.

The British oil tanker Pacific Voyager, which recently sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, was apparently accompanied by a UK military vessel during its passage, the Marine Traffic tracking service showed on 9 July. Later, the British warship stopped following the tanker, but was soon replaced by a NATO military vessel in the Gulf of Oman.

It is so far unclear what led the two warships to follow the British oil tanker, but the situation comes amid tensions between the UK and Iran. Tehran has slammed a recent decision by British authorities to seize an oil tanker carrying crude oil, warning that it could take tit-for-tat measures against British vessels unless the tanker is released.

Bloomberg reported on the same day that in the wake of these tensions, an oil tanker belonging to the British energy giant BP took "shelter" inside the Persian Gulf, allegedly fearing that Tehran could follow through on its promise.

London claims that the Grace 1 tanker, seized on 4 June off Gibraltar, was carrying Iranian oil to Syria in violation of European sanctions against the Arab country's government. The 28 crewmembers of the super tanker are being interviewed as witnesses by British authorities in an effort to establish the nature of the freight and its final destination.

Iran denies claims that the oil was destined for Syria and lambasted London's actions as "piracy", warning that the incident has set "a dangerous precedent".

Norway has been asked to contribute to a military coalition that the US is working to assemble in order to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, national broadcaster NRK reported. However, whether Norwegian naval vessels will be sent to the Persian Gulf remains unclear.

Norway's Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide confirmed that her country has been asked to contribute militarily to the nascent coalition.

"I can confirm that Norway has received a request from the US to contribute to some form of mechanism in order to strengthen the safety of shipping through the Hormuz Strait", Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide told NRK.

Despite repeatedly voicing her concern at the development and the military escalation taking place in the Gulf area, Søreide assumed a wait-and-see stance.

"The fact that the US has undertaken this initiative is positive, but it is too early to say anything about any Norwegian contribution. For us to more closely discuss any possible participation with the US and other allies, there must be more clarity in the framework for this cooperation", Søreide pointed out.

Norway is known for its wide contribution to international coalitions. Since 1947, the Scandinavian country has participated in over 40 military operations abroad, and over 120,000 Norwegian troops have served in these operations. Norway has dutifully supported most recent NATO operations, including missions in Lebanon, the Balkans, Mali, Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, and Syria. In 2009, Norway sent frigates to secure maritime traffic against pirate attacks outside Somalia in the Horn of Africa.

In May 2019, four tankers belonging to Norway, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, were badly damaged as a result of several explosions in the Gulf of Oman. Despite the fact that a UAE-led investigation failed to determine the culprit behind the "sabotage", as well as Teheran's vehement denial, the US rushed to baselessly pin the explosions on Iran. As an answer to the US' belligerent rhetoric, Iran responded by shooting down a US drone.

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[...]

The evidence collected by Flynn's current defense Attorney Sidney Powell, who recently replaced Flynn's former defense attorney Robert Kelner, sheds new light on the extraordinary tactics used to target and retaliate against Flynn, according to the filing.

Further, Powell's submission to the court also reveals that Flynn and his attorneys were under extreme pressure to file a Foreign Agents Registration Act in February, 2017 by David Laufman, the former head of the National Security Division.

Flynn was forced to file his FARA registration in February 2017, "under extreme and unprecedented pressure from extensive interactions with the National Security Division including then- NSD head David Laufman." Laufman resigned shortly after on Feb. 8, 2017, during DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz's investigation into the FBI's probe of Hillary Clinton's use of a private server to send classified emails.

Further, Flynn's former counsel had advised prosecutors that "Mr. Flynn did not know and did not authorize signing the FARA form believing there is anything wrong in it. He honesty answered the questions his former counsel posed to him to the best of his recollection, and some with the benefit of hindsight."

The government's case against Rafiekian, 66, and Kamil Ekim Alptekin, 41, a Turkish national, involve Flynn's former security firm Flynn Intel Group. Rafiekian, who goes by the last name Kian, and Alptekin were indicted December, 2018, on conspiracy, and acting in the United States as illegal agents of the government of Turkey. Notably that indictment came just in time to provide any encouragement Flynn might have needed to cement his guilty plea in Judge Emmet Sullivan's court.

The pair were also charged with making false statements to the FBI, according to the Department of Justice. According to the charges, Rafiekian, is charged with "conspiracy and acting in the United States as an illegal agent of the government of Turkey." Basically, they are charging Kian with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which is rarely prosecuted. According to Ms. Powell's brief, the government has recently been insistent that Flynn admit that he knowingly and intentionally allowed FARA documents to filed on behalf of his former security firm Flynn Intel Group by his former counsel at Covington and Burling.

Flynn, who has been cooperating with the government throughout its investigation, has given hundreds of hours of interviews and information at great personal expense in time, travel and attorneys fees. Still, the government prosecutor, Evan Turgeon, was not satisfied, according to the defense filing. So much so, that the prosecutors re-interviewed Flynn's former attorney Kelner about the FARA filing.

"The prosecutors have been adamant that Mr. Flynn testify that he authorized the filing of the FARA form knowing and intending that it contained false statements," the defense filing states. "Mr. Flynn cannot give that testimony because it is not true."

Flynn's former counsel, Kelner, admitted they had to make difficult judgement calls regarding the filing because of the extreme pressure and they did so with the advice of the National Security Division, the filing states.

However, during trial on June 28, Judge Anthony Trenga, who is presiding over the case against Kian, pressed prosecutors nearly half a dozen times to explain what laws were violated, regarding an op-ed that was published by the firm and the issue of lobbying.

"That's what I'm having trouble understanding here," the judge said, as reported by Politico. "It's a convoluted statute."

Powell contends in the filing that the government cannot now designate Flynn a coconspirator in Kian's case, because prosecutors stated in open court on June 13 that Flynn is not a coconspirator and made numerous identical representations to Flynn's new attorneys. Flynn has been a cooperating witness for the government and continues to cooperate fully with the government, she states in her brief. The court has not ruled on the government's request and could even wait until trial to make the decision.

In fact, prosecutors stipulated "that Mr. Flynn is not a coconspirator in the case before the court." The defense team notes that this is not a mere 'Correction of the Record" that the government sought, but a complete and unwarranted "about-face."

Powell's recent filing with the Eastern District of Virginia was in response to a government filing that the defense team was made aware of only on July 7. According to the filing the government prosecutors are requesting that the court now designate Flynn as a coconspirator in their case against Rafiekian. Prosecutors stated that the request was based on a document that the government itself concedes can be submitted without designating Flynn a coconspirator.

The question is why would the government want to all the sudden do an 'about face' on Flynn? It appears to be in response to their failure to strong-arm Flynn into telling them what they want to hear, rather than the truth. In fact, government prosecutors stipulated numerous times to the court that Flynn was a full cooperating witness and the defense filing makes that clear as well.

"The government's 'about face' is not a correction of the record," states the defense. "There is no misstatement or typographical error which can simply be 'corrected.' The prosecutors made deliberate and affirmative admissions to counsel and this court" that constitute judicial admissions binding under the law.

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