Iran ready to release seized UK oil tanker
The British tanker which was seized by Iran in July has cleared its legal hurdles and will soon be able to leave, a spokesperson for the Islamic Republic’s government said today.
Stena Impero has jumped through all the legal loops it needed ahead of its release, a spokesperson said. However he did not specify when the ship would be set free.
Read more: Boris Johnson blames Iran for drone attack on Saudi oil
The seizure on 19 July came as retaliation against the UK after Royal Marines boarded an Iranian ship suspected of breaking European sanctions on Syria.
Iran’s Grace 1 tanker was later released. It turned off its GPS tracker 20 days ago between Syria and Cyprus.
“The legal work and administrative procedures for the release of the English tanker have been completed but I have no information on the time of the release,” Ali Rabiei told Iran’s ILNA news agency.
Fars, another news agency, quoted the spokesperson as saying: “The legal work for the oil tanker is over … and the oil tanker can move, and the decisions indicate the end of the detention.”
Read more: US to send troops into Saudi Arabia following oil attacks
Relations have been strained in recent months, culminating last weekend when several drones attacked Saudi oil facilities, knocking out five per cent of global capacity. Prices shot up as much as 20 per cent on the news.
The US and Saudi authorities have said that Iran is to blame for the attack, which it claims came from Houthi fighters in Yemen. This morning UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that it is most likely that Tehran was behind the attack.