Ag AFP
TEHRAN: Iran on Friday
released a South Koreanflagged tanker it had
seized three months ago
after a dispute over billions in frozen oil funds.
The release comes as
Iran is engaged in talks
with world powers in Vienna -- described by Iran’s
President Hassan
Rouhani as a "new chapter" -- aimed at salvaging a
2015 nuclear deal and lifting US sanctions on the
Islamic republic.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
seized the Hankuk Chemi
and its multinational crew
of 20 sailors in January,
but South Korea’s foreign
ministry said Friday that
its detention had been
lifted and "the ship departed safely today".
Iran’s foreign ministry
spokesman later confirmed the ship’s release.