The spat comes amid heightened tension between Tehran and Washington following US President Donald Trump’s decision last year to pull out of a nuclear deal with Iran. The US has imposed sanctions that have kept Iran from selling its oil abroad and have crippled its economy. On Friday, Iran released a British-flagged oil tanker it had seized in July as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20 percent of all oil passes. The ship, the Stena Impero, set sail from Iran on Friday morning, arriving at an anchorage outside Dubai’s Port Rashid in the United Arab Emirates just before midnight. Gibraltar later released the tanker after it said Iran promised the ship would not go to Syria.

Source: Taipei Times September 29, 2019 15:56 UTC