Internacional

Iran says Britain might release oil tanker soon

por Amoldo Sanabria·Agosto 14, 2019 02:58
The current detention order on the vessel expires on Saturday night after which a court is to decide on its fate

The current detention order on the vessel expires on Saturday night after which a court is to decide on its fate

The UK will facilitate the release of the Iranian oil tanker detained by Gibraltar if Iran gave guarantees that the crude loaded on that vessel wasn't bound for Syria, the UK's then foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said in the middle of July.

Mr Eslami said: "Efforts from Iran and the port organisation have been made for the release of this ship".

The Iranian tanker was detained on July 4 on suspicion of transporting oil to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions.

Opposing news reports fueled confusion Tuesday over the fate of an oil tanker seized near the British territory of Gibraltar last month.

On July 9, the Gibraltar government announced that with the help of British Navy, it seized Iranian oil carrier Grace-1 in the waters off the land and transferred it to its ports.

Britain have said there would be serious consequences if Iran did not release the British vessel.

At least two weeks after the United Kingdom seized Grace 1, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) captured a British-flagged oil tanker, named Stena Impero, near the Hormuz Strait, blaming if for violating marine.

Tensions have Iran and the West have been rising since the Trump administration reimposed sanctions on Iran following its abandonment of the nuclear deal.

Jalil Eslami, deputy head of Iran's maritime agency, said Tuesday that the tanker, Grace 1, would soon be released by Gibraltar authorities. Iran claimed that the vessel, the Stena Impero, had been "violating global maritime rules". Britain considers that action to have been retaliation.

"We don't have any information at the moment", the representative said.

Washington has developed a plan to create a military coalition to escort foreign vessels sailing through the Strait of Hormuz in the strategic Persian Gulf. For example, President Hassan Rouhani said that "it doesn't make sense that Iran can't export its oil but others are able".