Over two months after its seizure, Iran on Monday announced it is setting a British oil tanker free.
Government spokesman Ali Rabiei said in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency that the oil tanker Stena Impero is free to continue on its way.
THE SEIZURE CAUSED TENSIONS BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES
On Sunday, Morad Afifi Pour, managing director of Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Organization, said the British oil tanker would be released in the near future from the Gulf port city of Bandar Abbas.
On July 19, the Iranian authorities seized the British oil tanker in Gulf waters “for not falling in line with maritime rules.” The seizure took place amid rising tensions between Iran and the US after Washington backed out of a deal to curb Tehran’s nuclear program and reimposed sanctions.
Tensions have risen since then, with the US accusing Iran of attacking Saudi oil production facilities on Sept. 14 and announcing the deployment of an unspecified number of troops to Saudi Arabia.