Iran’s foreign ministry releases South Korean tanker crew as a “Humanitarian Move”

Tehran, Feb 2 (AFP/APP): Iran’s foreign ministry on Tuesday said the Islamic republic has permitted the crew of a seized South Korean tanker to leave the country as part of a “humanitarian move”.

“In a humanitarian move by Iran, the crew of the South Korean tanker accused of polluting the environment of the Persian Gulf were allowed to leave the country,” ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a statement.

The permission for them to leave was granted upon “the request of the South Korean government and (with) the cooperation of the judiciary in Iran”, he added.

He did not specify whether the crew have already left. The case of the tanker and its captain were still being reviewed, he added, without elaborating.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized the Hankuk Chemi and arrested its multinational crew of 20 near the strategic Strait of Hormuz on January 4, alleging it had polluted the area’s waters.

The move came as Tehran urged Seoul to released billions of dollars of Iranian assets frozen in South Korea as part of US sanctions. Former US president Donald Trump in 2018 withdrew Washington from a landmark nuclear agreement with world powers and then reimposed and reinforced crippling sanctions on Iran.