Iran to release seized British oil tanker

Iran's Foreign Ministry announced Monday that Iran will release the seized British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero in the coming days.

An image grab taken from a broadcast by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) on July 22, 2019 shows Iranian Revolutionary Guards in speedboats patrolling a tanker Stena Impero as it's anchored off the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. [Photo: AFP]

"Legal and judicial procedures are underway ... and the ship will be released," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said at his weekly press conference on Monday.

He noted that "no mediation is involved in the release of the ship."

Iran detained the Stena Impero on July 19, alleging that it had violated the maritime regulations while passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier, Iran released seven crew members of the oil tanker.

The Iranian officials have ruled out any link between Stena Impero's case and British seizure of the Iranian supertanker Grace 1 off the coast of Gibraltar.

The Grace 1, renamed as Adrian Darya 1, was released by the Gibraltar authorities on Aug. 16.