Iran

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran has made no commitments to gain the release of its tanker from detention in Gibraltar, an Iranian government spokesman was quoted as saying on Friday, reiterating that Grace 1 was never bound for Syria as alleged by its captors.

Fabian Picardo, chief minister for the British territory, said the detention order was lifted after written assurances from Tehran that the ship would not discharge oil in Syria in violation of European Union sanctions.

Tehran, Aug 16, IRNA - A prominent lawyer from Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies believes the UK’s bitter experience of seizing Grace 1 supertanker indicates how expensive it would be for the countries to follow the extremist elements in Trump administration from political, strategic and prestige point of view.

Chabahar, Aug 16, IRNA – A Russian official stressed the importance of Iran's port city of Chabahar in connecting the Caspian Sea littoral ports to the Gulf of Oman and voiced his country's interest in boosting trade via the strategic port.

15 August 2019; DW: The decision to release an Iranian oil tanker seized by Britain off Gibraltar last month comes despite US pleas. The ship was suspected of violating European Union sanctions on oil shipments to Syria.

Gibraltar authorities have reportedly released an Iranian tanker, which has been at the center of a standoff with Tehran.

The US had sought to seize the supertanker through legal action.

TEHRAN, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization announced Tuesday that Britain is expected to release the confiscated Iranian oil tanker soon, state TV reported.

The authorities of the two sides have exchanged documents to pave the way for the release of the Iranian vessel, Jalil Eslami, the organization's deputy head, was quoted as saying.

London had shown willingness to resolve the dispute, Eslami said.

"We hope the problem will be resolved in the near future and the ship can continue sailing with the flag of Iran," he added.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the United States on Monday of turning the Gulf region into a “matchbox ready to ignite”, according to Al Jazeera television.

Oil tanker traffic passing through the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz has become the focus of a U.S.-Iranian standoff since Washington pulled out of an international nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed sanctions to strangle Tehran’s oil exports.

10 Aug 2019; MEMO: Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abbas Mousavi yesterday stressed that any Israeli role in a maritime alliance in the Gulf is a “clear threat” to Iran’s national security, stressing that Iran has the right to counter it, according to a statement posted on the ministry’s website.

TEHRAN, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Iranian officials have condemned a U.S. plan to set up a coalition to secure maritime transport in the Gulf.

On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif denounced the U.S. plan to establish a military coalition in the Gulf to counter what it calls the "Iran threat," Press TV reported.

The presence of non-regional military forces in the strategic region will act as a "source of insecurity," Zarif was quoted as saying.

7 Aug 2019; MEMO: Head of Iranian Shura Council Ali Larijani yesterday warned that US military bases in the region could be targets for the Iranian army in response to any aggression against Tehran, the Anadolu Agency reported.

During a celebration to honour journalists, he said: “We should analyse the possible American measures, which could only be air strikes.”

He also said: “There are missions that might be carried out by the Israeli occupation in this issue.”

TEHRAN, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has urged for implementation of the 2015 landmark nuclear deal which, he said, stipulated Iranian rights of oil exports and free banking ties with the world, official IRNA news agency reported on Wednesday.

"Restoration of Iran's banking ties with the world and regular flow of its oil trade with the global countries are the basic demands of Iran under the nuclear agreement," Rouhani said in a telephone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday night.