Iran expects confiscated oil cargo to be returned in full: Envoy

Iran expects an oil cargo confiscated by Greece to be returned in full, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Tehran’s ambassador to Athens as saying on Thursday, following a Greek court ruling quashing the original decision to confiscate part of the cargo.

The Greek court overturned an earlier court ruling that had allowed the confiscation in April by the United States of part of a cargo of Iranian oil on an Iranian-flagged tanker off the Greek coast, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The court ruling has not yet been made public.

“Following intensive follow-up, the Greek Court of Appeals will overturn the initial court ruling on the confiscation of Iranian oil and, by God’s grace, the entire oil shipment will be returned,” Ambassador Ahmad Naderi said on the embassy’s Twitter account.

The confiscation of the cargo prompted an angry response from Iran, with Iranian forces last month seizing two Greek tankers in the Gulf after Tehran warned it would take “punitive action” against Athens.

“The issue will remain on the agenda of intensive consultations between the two countries until the full implementation of the ruling is certain,” Naderi added.