Gibraltar denies Iran’s claim that seized tanker Grace 1 will be freed Tuesday

A highly placed Gibraltarian government source denied on Tuesday an Iranian news agency report which said the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 would be leaving the British overseas territory on Tuesday.

British Royal Marines seized the tanker on July 4 off the coast of the British Mediterranean territory of Gibraltar on suspicion of violating EU sanctions by taking oil to Syria, which Tehran denies.

Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency quoted unidentified Gibraltar authorities as saying the tanker would bee freed on Tuesday evening.

A senior Gibraltarian government source said that report was not correct. Earlier, Gibraltar said it was seeking to de-escalate the situation.

Britain said on Tuesday that investigations into the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 were a matter for Gibraltar.

“The investigations being conducted around the Grace 1 are a matter for the government of Gibraltar,” a Foreign Office spokesman said. “As this is an ongoing investigation, we are unable to comment further.”