ISTANBUL – A British-flagged oil tanker held by Iran has been cleared for release, an Iranian government spokesman said Monday, potentially ending a months-long saga that had raised tensions between Iran and the West.
Iran seized the Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz on July 19, just two weeks after an Iranian supertanker was detained off the coast of Gibraltar on suspicion of transporting oil to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions.
At the time, Iranian authorities said that the Swedish-owned Stena Impero had “violated maritime law” in the strait, a key waterway for global oil shipments, and would face judicial proceedings in Iran.
On Monday, government spokesman Ali Rabiei confirmed that authorities had completed all the legal steps necessary to release the vessel, but he said it was unclear when the ship would depart.
“The legal work has been done, and the administrative procedures have been completed for the release of the [British] tanker,” Rabiei told reporters in Tehran, the Iranian Labor News Agency reported. “But I have no information about when it will be released.”
The vessel appeared to remain anchored off the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on Monday afternoon, according to shipping tracking data. An Iranian maritime official said late Sunday that the ship would soon be released but that the case against the vessel would proceed and the results of the investigation would be announced, Iranian media reported.
The move to release the Stena Impero comes amid a brewing confrontation between Iran and the United States following a brazen attack on oil installations in Saudi Arabia earlier this month, an operation that U.S. officials have blamed on Iran.
A swarm of weaponized drones and guided cruise missiles targeted facilities belonging to the Saudi state oil company, Aramco, forcing it to suspend half its production. Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are aligned with Iran, claimed responsibility. But U.S. and Saudi officials said Houthi fighters lacked the capability to carry out such a complex attack.
The decision to free the vessel also follows Gibraltar’s move last month to release the Iranian supertanker it held for more than 40 days. Authorities in the British overseas territory said last month that they had received assurances from Iranian officials that the vessel’s cargo – 2.1 million barrels of light crude oil – would not travel to Syria, where the government remains under E.U. sanctions.
The tanker, however, is now anchored in the Mediterranean off the Syrian port city, Tartus. It is unclear whether it has unloaded its cargo.
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