LONDON • British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has told his Iranian counterpart that Britain would facilitate the release of a detained oil tanker if Teheran gave guarantees it would not go to Syria.
The Grace 1 tanker was seized last week by British Royal Marines off the coast of the British Mediterranean territory of Gibraltar on suspicion of violating sanctions.
Iran denies the tanker was taking oil to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions. Teheran on Saturday reiterated its call for the ship's release.
The affair has stoked tension in the Gulf, with Britain saying last Thursday that it had fended off Iranian ships that tried to block a British tanker in the area.
Mr Hunt said the call with Iran's foreign minister had been constructive and Mr Mohammad Javad Zarif had told him that Iran wanted to resolve the issue and was not seeking to escalate tensions.
"I reassured him our concern was destination not origin of the oil on Grace 1 and that UK would facilitate release if we received guarantees that it would not be going to Syria, following due process in (Gibraltar) courts," Mr Hunt wrote on Twitter.
A statement on the Iranian foreign ministry website said Mr Zarif told Mr Hunt during the call that Britain should quickly release the tanker. Iran will continue its oil exports under any conditions, Mr Zarif also told Mr Hunt, according to the statement.
Teheran blames the United States for arranging the seizure of the tanker. Washington has imposed sanctions against Iran with the aim of halting Iranian oil exports.
European countries do not have sanctions against Iran, but have had them in place against Iran's ally Syria since 2011.
Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo told the territory's Parliament last Friday the decision to detain the tanker, which he said was carrying 2.1 million barrels of oil, had not been taken at the request of any other country.
"Also spoke to @FabianPicardo who is doing an excellent job coordinating issue and shares UK perspective on the way forward," Mr Hunt said.
The Gibraltar police said four crew members who had been arrested, including the vessel's captain and chief officer, had been released on bail without charge but their investigation was ongoing.
REUTERS
