Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday said his country and other Gulf neighbours are able to safeguard the region, reiterating his previous statement that there is no need for foreign troops in the Gulf.
Rouhani’s remarks came just a day after the UK has sent the warship HMS Kent to the Gulf on Monday to join a US-led mission in the region.
On Tuesday, London said that releasing the Iranian tanker “Grace 1” which was captured by the British Royal Marines off Gibraltar is an internal affair to the Government of Gibraltar. A spokesperson of the British Foreign Ministry noted that the issue of the tanker is still under investigation.
The Iranian tanker was seized early in July because of transporting 2.1m barrels of Iranian oil to the Syrian regime in contravention of EU sanctions.
On Wednesday, the Government of Gibraltar denied the news broadcast in Iranian media regarding the release of the Iranian tanker.
On Tuesday, Tehran said the UK authorities could release the Iranian oil tanker following “exchanging documents” regarding the detained vessel.
