British oil tanker Stena Impero, seized by Iran in July in the Strait of Hormuz, began leaving Iran's territorial waters on Friday (September 27th), the shipping authorities said in the Iranian province of Hormozgan. "Stena Impero started to set sail around 9 am local time (5:30 GMT) in the direction of the international waters of the Persian Gulf," Hormozgan maritime authorities said on their website.

But despite the authorization to leave, "the court's legal record remains open". The Swedish owner of the tanker earlier said that the vessel, which is flying the British flag, was preparing to leave after receiving the final authorization from the Iranian authorities.

The 183-meter tanker, boarded on July 19 by Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, was taken to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas with a crew of 23 people on board. Seven of them were released on 4 September. The Iranian authorities accused the tanker of ignoring distress calls and turning off his transponder after colliding with a fishing boat.

>> Read also: A British tanker detained in Iran after being boarded in the Strait of Hormuz

The seizure came a few hours after the Gibraltar court announced the prolongation of the seizure of Grace 1, an Iranian oil tanker arrested on 4 July by the police and customs of this British territory at the southernmost tip of the country. Spain. Iran has denied that this is retaliation.

Oil delivered to Syria, according to London

After being allowed to leave on August 15, the oil tanker - renamed Adrian Darya 1 - had left Gibraltar on the 18th under the Iranian flag, despite a last minute request from the United States to extend the detention of the ship, which ended to be placed on the blacklist of Washington.

The Gibraltar government and the United States said they suspected the cargo was destined for Syria, which has been targeted since the beginning of the 2011 conflict for its oil sector. Tehran did not officially disclose the tanker's destination, but denied that it was going to Syria.

On September 10, London accused Iran of breaking its word by delivering oil to Syria.

With AFP