NEW DELHI: Iran has freed nine of 12 Indian crew from a Panama-flagged tanker seized on July 14, India’s foreign ministry said Friday.
Iran had accused the vessel, the MT Riah, of smuggling contraband fuel when it was detained, amid mounting tensions between the Iranian government and Britain and the United States over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The release left 21 other Indians in Iranian detention, including three others from the MT Riah and 18 from the British-flagged Stena Impero, which was captured by Iranian forces last week.
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