Tehran, Sep 23: The Iranian media has on Sunday reported Tehran released the seized British Stena Impero oil tanker, two months after it captured the vessel in the Strait of Hormuz over the alleged “maritime violations” charges.
Iran’s Hormozgan maritime and ports general manager Allahmorad Afifipour announced the release of the British oil tanker, stating the ship would begin transiting from Iran’s Bandar Abbad port to the international waters very “soon”.
On July 20, United Kingdom (UK) foreign minister Jeremy Hunt expressed deep concern that Iran had taken a “dangerous” path a day after Tehran reportedly captured a British-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on July 19.
Senior Iranian authorities have cautioned against any attempts to establish an international alliance to secure shipping in the Gulf, with Tehran’s first vice president warning the move will just carry instability to the locale.
The reaction comes after Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and Italy supported a British proposal for a European maritime force after Iran captured a UK-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Al-Jazeera news reports.
Relations between Iran and the United Kingdom (UK) have been stressed since British officials seized an Iranian oil tanker off the coast of Gibraltar earlier this month on doubt it was shipping crude oil to Syria in violation of the European Union (EU) sanctions.
Iran has blamed Britain for acting at the command of the United States and requested the immediate release arrival of its vessel.
On September 11, the EU said the British move to join a US-drove maritime mission in the Gulf has deferred European endeavors to set up a naval force to guarantee safe shipping in the Strait of Hormuz away from American watches.
Recently, Saudi Arabia has raised security concerns post drone attacks on Aramco oil facilities that has caused a considerable negative shift in the nation’s net oil export, indirectly affecting global oil prices.
As per the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Riyadh has decided to join a global maritime security venture, established by US President Donald Trump.
On July 24, senior Iranian authorities cautioned against any attempts to establish an international alliance to secure shipping in the Gulf, with Tehran’s first vice president warning the move will just carry instability to the locale.
The reaction came after Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and Italy supported a British proposal for a European maritime force after Iran captured a UK-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Al-Jazeera news reports.
Also Read: