The Latest: Iranian FM says US tried to 'steal' tanker

MADRID (AP) — The Latest on Iranian supertanker at center of Persian Gulf tensions (all times local):

4.30 p.m.

A newspaper in Gibraltar says authorities have released an Iranian supertanker at the center of a standoff with Tehran that the U.S. had sought to seize through legal action.

The Supreme Court in Gibraltar had delayed a decision to release the ship after the U.S. Department of Justice made a last-minute application to extend the vessel’s detention, the Gibraltar government said earlier on Thursday. Gibraltar is a British overseas territory linked by a narrow stretch of land to southern Spain.

But the Gibraltar Chronicle reports there was no U.S. application before the court when the hearing resumed on Thursday afternoon. The newspaper quoted the court’s chief justice, Anthony Dudley.

The Grace 1, carrying 2.1 million barrels of Iranian crude, was seized on July 4 in a British Royal Navy operation off Gibraltar. The vessel was suspected of violating European Union sanctions on oil shipments to Syria.

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11:25 a.m.

A newspaper in Gibraltar says the United States has applied to seize an Iranian supertanker that authorities in the British overseas territory were seeking to release from detention.

The Gibraltar Chronicle says the development means a last minute application by the U.S. Department of Justice to extend the ship’s detention prompted the Supreme Court to adjourn its decision until later Thursday.

The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The tanker was seized last month in a British Royal Navy operation off Gibraltar. It’s suspected of violating European Union sanctions on oil shipments to Syria, and its seizure deepened international tensions in the Persian Gulf.

The Gibraltar government says it is seeking to “de-escalate” the situation over the Grace 1.

source: yahoo.com