A Vietnamese-flagged oil tanker that American officials said was seized by Iran last month has left Iran and entered the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday.
An Iranian official at Bandar Abbas port told Reuters the tanker Sothys left Iran late on Tuesday "after its oil cargo was unloaded", giving no details on the crew.
Refinitiv ship tracking data showed the ship had been near Bandar Abbas on Tuesday but was early on Wednesday listed as at anchor off the coasts of Oman and the United Arab Emirates in the Gulf of Oman. No destination was listed for the ship.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards a week ago claimed they thwarted an attempt by the United States to detain a tanker carrying Iranian oil in the Sea of Oman. State-controlled media proclaimed it as a big victory against the US and several different versions of the event were presented.
The US denied this saying Iranian forces had seized a Vietnamese-flagged tanker in late October.
Vietnam’s foreign ministry confirmed on November 4 that it was in talks with Iran over the seizure of the tanker.
With reporting by Reuters