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A tanker called "Riah" which, according to Iranian state TV, was "smuggling fuel" in the Gulf, is seen in this screengrab obtained from a video, July 18, 2019. /Reuters Photo
Iran has freed nine of 12 Indian crew members from a Panama-flagged tanker seized on July 14, India's Foreign Ministry said Friday.
Iran had accused the MT Riah ship of smuggling contraband fuel when it was detained, amid mounting tensions between Iran and Britain and the U.S. over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The TankerTrackers online oil shipment website reported that the MT Riah crossed into Iranian waters on July 14 and stopped transmitting signals shortly after.
India's Foreign Ministry did not give details of the release of the nine men.
It left 21 other Indians in Iranian detention, however, including three others from the MT Riah and 18 from the British-flagged Stena Impero tanker which was captured by Iranian forces last week.
The Stena Impero and its 23-member crew have been impounded at the southern port of Bandar Abbas for allegedly breaking "international maritime rules." The vessel is at the heart of the showdown between Iran and Britain. Apart from the 18 Indians, there are three Russians, a Latvian and a Filipino on the ship.
A picture from Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency shows the Stena Impero being seized and detained between July 19 and July 21, 2019, near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran. /VCG Photo
India announced on Thursday that its diplomats in Iran had been given access to Stena Impero crew.
"All 18 Indian crew members on board are safe and doing fine. Will continue to push for their early release," Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan said on Twitter.
Iranian Ambassador to Britain Hamid Baeidinejad also said Iran had granted India consular access to the 18 Indian crew members of the Stena Impero.
"(The) Indian embassy in Tehran was granted consular access to meet the 18 Indian crew of the detained British ship Stena Impero," he said. "Similar access is underway to other five crew from other nationalities. (The) Indian embassy has reported to find the crew being very calm with no sense of panic."
The tanker's seizure has deepened a crisis triggered between Iran and Western countries in April when the United States said it would sanction countries buying oil from Iran.
Iran has hinted it is open to swapping the Stena Impero for an Iranian vessel, Grace 1, that was detained in Gibraltar allegedly carrying Iranian oil to Syria in breach of international sanctions.