Tanker carrying Iranian oil leaves Greece

The ministry declared the news in a communique on Wednesday, underlining that the oil tanker has been released following a political and legal campaign against the United States’ role in this respect.

As a result of an agreement between the Greek and Iranian maritime officials, the ship left Greece waters after six months to sail towards a preplanned destination, the statement emphasized.

The tanker was sailing in international waters towards its destination in May, when it harbored in a port in a Greece coast due to technical problems and adverse weather conditions, the ministry said.

The Iranian-flagged Lana, formerly Pegas, carrying Iran’s oil had been seized by Greece under the US pressure to tighten its sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran.

On April 19, the Greek authorities impounded the 115,500-deadweight tonnage PEGAS, with 19 Russian crew members on board, on the southern coast of the island of Evia.

The tanker was reportedly carrying 115,000 tons of Iranian oil. Late in April, it was reported that the US Department of Justice had confiscated 700,000 barrels of the Iranian oil cargo.

However, the Greek court overturned its decision to confiscate the Iranian oil tanker, releasing the ship and its cargo.

The Foreign Ministry also underscored that Iran stood against the Greece’s act, which was carried out under the guise of judicial cooperation with the US, because the measure is a blatant violation of international law of the seas.

According to the statement, Greece and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding in a visit by a Greek official to Tehran in order to expand cooperation concerning maritime security.

Concurrent with the release of the Iranian tanker, two ships belonging to Greece were unseized; so, all three vessels started their journey on Wednesday, the statement added.

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