Iranian FM rejects French and German claims over detention of Greek tanker

The statements of the German and French foreign ministries on the detention of a Greek tanker by the Iranian side are unilateral and baseless.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh made the due statement on Wednesday.

"We strongly reject such unilateral and baseless statements," the Foreign Ministry's press service quoted him as saying. - "Unfortunately, these countries protest Iran's legitimate actions, but remain silent about the illegal detention of the Iranian ship by the Greek authorities and the seizure of its cargo."

On Sunday, the French Foreign Ministry called the detention of a Greek tanker by Iranian authorities a violation of international law and called on Tehran to immediately release the ship and its crew. The German Foreign Ministry made a similar statement.

On May 27, forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, an elite force of the Iranian Armed Forces) detained two Greek tankers in the Persian Gulf. Iranian news agency Nurnews had earlier reported that Tehran had decided to retaliate with "punitive measures" against Greece for detaining a tanker carrying Iranian oil.

On May 26, the press service of the Greek Ministry of the Navy and Island Policy told TASS's correspondent in Athens about the decision to transfer to the United States the Iranian oil, carried by the Russian-flagged tanker Lana. The tanker was detained in Greece in the middle of April and might have been carrying 115,000 tons of crude.