Iran: Judiciary to decide on release of UK oil tanker

Iran’s judiciary will decide whether or not to release the British oil tanker seized in Iranian waters, DPA reported the commander of the Iranian Navy saying.

“The British tanker has three violations, which must be dealt with,” Alireza Tangsiri said, stating that the Judiciary and Port Authority are entitled to make a decision on the fate of the tanker.

He stressed that there is no relationship between the issue of the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1, which was released by Gibraltar this weekend, and the fate of the British ship.

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The UK has said that the Iranian tanker was detained for breaking EU sanctions by carrying oil to Syria.

Iran denied its tanker was heading to Syria and stressed that only it can decide where to send its oil supplies.

Iran seized the British tanker on 19 July in the Strait of Hormuz, just two weeks after Grace 1 was captured, saying it violated international maritime rules.