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Good morning from the newsroom of the Financial Times. Today is Friday July the 5th and this is your F.T. News briefing.

British Marines and Gibraltar Police sees a tanker suspected of carrying Iranian oil to Syria. The Women's World Cup reaches

its finale, but will the expected winners take up their invitation to the White House?

Who are the main contenders to replace Christine Lagarde as IMF chief?

Plus, our features writer Henry Mance tells us about the pressure US space agency, NASA is under,

to put astronauts back on the moon by 2024.

I'm Katie Martin and here is the news you need to start

your day. The seizure by British Royal Marines and Gibraltar Police of a

super tanker suspected of carrying oil to Syria risks

inflaming tensions between Tehran and the EU. If as suspected the cargo is

confirmed to be of Iranian origin the 2 million barrel shipment would be in breach of EU sanctions against the Assad regime.

Shipbrokers and tanker tracking data indicated that the oil on board was from Iran,

and the government of Gibraltar said it had reasonable grounds to believe the

Panamanian registered vessel was taking the oil to Syria's Banyas refinery.

Iran, a close ally of the Assad regime, is a target of US but not EU sanctions

following the Trump administration's decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal.

And EU nations including the UK have been working with Iran to try and create a mechanism outside of the US financial system to allow Tehran to continue trading under the terms of the nuclear deal.

Teheranil usic can no longer be bound by the terms of the nuclear deal as long as its oil cells remain largely cut off.

A person familiar with the operation to seize the tanker said the decision was based entirely on its suspect of final destination in Syria and that the fact that the

cargo may be of Iranian origin did not influence the decision.

...