All crew on British-flagged tanker in good health: Iranian embassy in India

The seizure of the Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz - the world’s most important waterway for the oil trade - has deepened a crisis between Tehran and the West that was triggered in May when Washington tightened sanctions, effectively barring all countries from buying Iranian oil.

“All the crew members, including the Indian nationals are in good health, they are still on board the tanker,” the embassy told Reuters.

Eighteen of the Stena Impero’s 23-strong crew are Indian nationals, Iranian authorities said previously.

Britain called on Iran on Monday to release the tanker and its crew immediately, describing the seizure as illegal.

The United States pulled out of the nuclear deal in 2018.

But the pact is now hanging by a thread and Britain was thrust more directly into the confrontation on July 4, when its Royal Marines seized an Iranian tanker, the Grace 1, off the coast of Gibraltar. Britain accused it of violating sanctions against Syria, prompting repeated Iranian denial.