This archive report was first published on 13 August 2019.
On July 4, British Royal Marines assisted Gibraltar in seizing the Grace 1 supertanker, a British overseas territory, on suspicion that it was shipping oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions.
The detention of the ship is set to expire on Thursday, and a court in Gibraltar will decide its fate.
Iran's deputy head of port authority, Jalil Eslami, stated that Britain had shown interest in resolving the issue, and documents had been exchanged.
"Efforts from Iran and the port organisation have been made for the release of this ship," he said in a report by state news agency IRNA.
"I hope this problem will be resolved in the near future and that the ship can continue its movement with the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Eslami added.
The seizure of the tanker has sparked tensions between Iran and Britain, with Gibraltar and US officials believing the tanker was destined for Syria to deliver oil, in violation of separate sets of EU and US sanctions.
Iran has called the seizure of the ship "piracy" and warned it would not let the interception go unanswered.
On July 19, Iran's Revolutionary Guards impounded the British-flagged Stena Impero oil tanker in the strategic Strait of Hormuz for breaking "international maritime rules".
