Gibraltar orders Iranian tanker release despite US detention bid

The Grace 1, carrying 2.1 million barrels of Iranian oil, was seized by Gibraltar police and British special forces on July 4, provoking a diplomatic crisis. [AFP]

Gibraltar's Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favour of releasing an Iranian supertanker seized on suspicion of shipping oil to war-torn Syria in breach of international sanctions, in a blow to the United States which had tried to block the vessel's departure.

The decision by Chief Justice Anthony Dudley came after Gibraltar's government said it had received written assurances from Iran that the Grace 1 would not be headed for countries "subject to European Union sanctions".