After its launch from Gibraltar, the Iranian oil tanker is preparing to sail under a new name

Iran announced that the oil tanker, which was detained in Gibraltar, was preparing to sail towards the Mediterranean, hoisting the Iranian flag under the name of "Adrian Daria".

At the request of the owner, the ship "Grace 1" will leave the Mediterranean after flying the Iranian flag and be renamed "Adrian Daria" during the trip, said Jalil Islami, deputy director of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran.

He added that "the ship was Russian origin and flying the Panama flag and loaded with two million barrels of Iranian oil."

The British-ruled Supreme Court in Gibraltar ordered the ship's release on Thursday after authorities said it had received written assurances from Iran that Grace 1 would not go to any EU-sanctioned country.

The ship was arrested on July 4 on suspicion that its cargo destination was an oil refinery in Banias, Syria, in violation of an EU ban.

Iranian exile
In return, Iran denied that it had provided any guarantees for the release of the ship, saying that the authorities of Gibraltar only seek to "save face".

"Iran has not given any guarantees that Grace 1 will not go to Syria in order to secure her release," Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi was quoted as saying on Friday.

"The destination of the tanker was not Syria," he said. "Even if that is the destination, it doesn't matter to anyone else."

Gibraltar Prime Minister Fabian Picardo said the order was released after written guarantees from Tehran that the ship would not unload its oil in Syria.

Piccardo added that the Supreme Court will consider any US attempt to prevent the Iranian tanker from leaving.

Hours before the court decision, the administration of US President Donald Trump, which launched a campaign of "extreme pressure" on Iran, began a recent legal effort to demand the authorities of Gibraltar to extend the detention of the ship.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Tuesday that the US attempt to "piracy" failed, saying it showed "contempt for the Trump administration's law."

Relations between Tehran and Washington have been strained since Trump withdrew last year from the 2015 nuclear deal between the major powers and Iran and reimposed harsh unilateral sanctions.

After the release of Grace 1, Britain renewed its demand that Iran release the British-flagged tanker and was seized by Tehran in the Strait of Hormuz on July 19.

Tehran said that "Stina Impero" violated international shipping laws, but the Iranian move was widely regarded as a retaliation for the detention of "Grace 1".