Britain on Monday rejected the idea that it could release a Iranian tanker in exchange for a British-flagged vessel seized by the Islamic Republic in the Gulf.
Tensions have spiked between Iran and Britain since after Iranian commandos seized a British-flagged tanker earlier this month. That came after British forces captured an Iranian oil tanker near Gibraltar, accused of violating sanctions on Syria.
President Hassan Rouhani of Iran suggested Wednesday that his country might release a British-flagged tanker in exchange for the return of an Iranian ship seized by the British military off the coast of Gibraltar.
Iranian officials had previously implied such an offer might be forthcoming, describing the capture of the British tanker as “retaliation” for the British having impounded the Iranian vessel earlier this month. Britain has already said the Gibraltar court system controls the fate of the Iranian tanker.
But on Monday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab totally excluded this possibility reiterating that legal system will decide the fate of the tanker.
Via Reuters
