A British-flagged tanker that Iran seized in July is now free to leave, Tehran said Monday, more than a month after British authorities released an Iranian tanker that had been detained off Gibraltar.
Iran had accused the British-flagged tanker, the Stena Impero, of violating maritime regulations in the Strait of Hormuz, but the seizure July 19 was widely seen as retaliation for Britain's detention of an Iranian vessel.
The legal proceedings against the Stena Impero have concluded, and Iran has decided to waive the allegations of violations, according to an Iranian government spokesman, Ali Rabiyee. His news conference was quoted by Iranian and Western news agencies that were present.
The ship had not left Bandar Abbas, a port in southern Iran, as of late Monday, and it was not clear how quickly it would set sail. Erik Hanell, chief executive of the tanker's owner, the shipping company Stena Bulk, told SVT, a Swedish television station, that he hoped it would be a matter of hours.
Iran detained the 23-member crew along with the ship. It released seven of the crew members this month, but the others have remained with the vessel.
The direct confrontation with Britain began July 4, when British marines and Gibraltar port officials seized an Iranian tanker, Grace 1, which has since been renamed the Adrian Darya 1. They said the ship was carrying oil to Syria, in violation of a European Union embargo.
Iran denied the allegation and accused the British of concocting the story to act against Tehran at the behest of Washington, though Britain formally opposes the U.S. sanctions.
The government of Gibraltar, a semiautonomous British territory, released the ship six weeks later and said that it had assurances that the Iranian tanker would not go to Syria. U.S. officials had asked that the ship and its oil be turned over to them, but the Gibraltar government rejected the request.
A Section on 09/24/2019