In a statement on Sunday, the Panhellenic Union of Merchant Navy Sailors claimed that during the recent visit of a Greek delegation to Iran, the Iranian side took a significant step back and agreed to the replacement of the two crews.
The release of the sailors is expected to begin on Monday with the crew members of the Prudent Warrior ship while the members of the “Delta Poseidon” will follow.
Some sources also claimed that Tehran allowed the release of the crews after the 100,000 tons of oil originally seized by the Greek authorities at the request of the US was returned to the tanks of the Iranian-owned ship Lana in late August.
The news has not yet been confirmed by the Iranian authorities.
In April, the Greek authorities seized an Iranian-flagged tanker, handing over its cargo of crude to an American tanker. Two days later, Iran responded by seizing two Greek oil tankers in the waters of the Persian Gulf.
The move took place as means of Athens’ abiding by the sanctions that Washington returned against Tehran in 2018 after leaving a historic deal between the Islamic Republic and world countries.
Reacting to the development, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Greek chargé d'affaires in Tehran in May and conveyed the Islamic Republic’s “strong protest” over the matter to the diplomat.
Later, the chargé d'affaires of Switzerland, which represents the US’s interests in the Islamic Republic, was also summoned by the Foreign Ministry and notified about Tehran’s protest at Washington’s violation of free trade laws.
Last month, however, the Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece upheld a verdict issued earlier by a court of appeal in favor of the return of the oil cargo to the Iranian vessel.
ZZ/5587592