TEHRAN/DUBAI: Iran said Saturday the crews onboard two Greek oil tankers it has seized in the Gulf are in 鈥済ood health鈥� and not under arrest.
Iranian forces seized two Greek tankers in the Gulf on Friday, shortly after Tehran warned it would take 鈥減unitive action鈥� against Athens over the confiscation of Iranian oil by the US from a tanker held off the Greek coast.
鈥淭he crew of the two Greek tankers have not been arrested, and all crew members ... are in good health and are being protected, and provided with necessary services while on board, in accordance with international law,鈥� Iran鈥檚 Ports and Maritime Organization said in a statement carried by state media.
The two vessels were stopped over unspecified 鈥渕aritime violations,鈥� the body said.
Greece has condemned Tehran鈥檚 detention of the two ships as 鈥渢antamount to acts of piracy鈥� and warned its citizens not to travel to Iran.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a tweet that the crews were 鈥渟afe and in good health.鈥�
He described ties between the two countries as having 鈥渁lways been based on mutual respect,鈥� adding that they 鈥渕ust not be hampered by deeply shortsighted miscalculations, including highway robbery on the command of a third party.鈥�
Separately, Nour News, affiliated to an Iranian state security body, said: 鈥淚ran will not remain passive in the face of any threat to its interests, and testing Iran鈥檚 will is a strategic error that will entail heavy costs for the United States and its entourage.鈥�
The Revolutionary Guards 鈥� the ideological arm of Iran鈥檚 military 鈥� had said it seized the tankers 鈥渄ue to violations,鈥� without elaborating further.
Greece said on Friday an Iranian navy helicopter landed on Greek-flagged vessel Delta Poseidon in international waters, and took the crew hostage. It said a similar incident took place on another Greek-flagged vessel near Iran, without naming the ship. Athens said both actions violated international law.
Nine Greeks are among the crews, the Greek foreign ministry said, without specifying the number of other sailors on board.
Iran鈥檚 action against the Greek-flagged tankers marks a sharp escalation in a diplomatic row that has raged since Greece seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker and its Iranian cargo last month.
Athens has linked the tanker seizure in Greece to sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February.
Iran鈥檚 foreign ministry demanded Friday that Greece release the vessel, saying the planned transfer of its cargo to the US was a 鈥渃lear violation鈥� of international law.
The US reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran in 2018, after then president Donald Trump pulled out of a nuclear agreement between Tehran and major powers. Its once-lucrative oil exports are a major target.
(With AFP and Reuters)