Iran Releases British-Flagged Oil Tanker After Long Standoff

Iran has shortly announced the release of the British-flagged Stena Impero tanker, which was detained by Tehran on July 19.

In a statement, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rubaie said that all legal procedures were taken to allow the vessel out of Iranian waters.

The Iranian’s decision comes ahead of a United Nations summit where it faces tough questions over attacks on rival Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities.

The Stena Impero was detained by Iran Revolutionary Guards in the Strait of Hormuz waterway for alleged marine violations, two weeks after Britain seized an Iranian tanker off Gibraltar on July 4. That vessel was released in August.

Earlier in the day, Swedish public broadcaster SVT quoted Stena Bulk Chief Executive Erik Hanell as saying: "We have received information this morning that it seems like they will release the ship Stena Impero within a few hours. So we understand that the political decision to release the ship has been taken."

The seizure came a couple of weeks after the confiscation of an Iranian oil tanker, Grace 1, by the British navy off the coast of Gibraltar due to suspicions that it carried oil to Syria, which would violate sanctions imposed by the European Union.

Iranian authorities had warned it would take action against the UK in retaliation for the seizure of Grace 1, which Tehran considered an act of piracy.

It is noteworthy that the United States issued visas allowing Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and FM Zarif to travel to New York for the annual gathering of world leaders at the UNGA, Reuters quoted Iran’s UN mission spokesman Alireza Miryousefi on Thursday.