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Iran to Release Crew of Two Seized Greek Tankers

The Liberian-flagged oil tanker Ice Energy transfers crude oil from the Iranian-flagged oil tanker Lana (former Pegas), off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. (Reuters)
The Liberian-flagged oil tanker Ice Energy transfers crude oil from the Iranian-flagged oil tanker Lana (former Pegas), off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. (Reuters)
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Iran to Release Crew of Two Seized Greek Tankers

The Liberian-flagged oil tanker Ice Energy transfers crude oil from the Iranian-flagged oil tanker Lana (former Pegas), off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. (Reuters)
The Liberian-flagged oil tanker Ice Energy transfers crude oil from the Iranian-flagged oil tanker Lana (former Pegas), off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. (Reuters)

Iran has agreed to release the crews of two Greek tankers it seized in May in the Gulf in response to the confiscation of oil by the United States from an Iranian-flagged tanker in Greece, the Greek union of commercial ships' seafarers said.

The case has strained relations between Athens and Tehran as tensions grow between Iran and the United States.

The Iranian-flagged tanker Lana, formerly Pegas, was seized by Greece in April and had remained under arrest for months. The United States had confiscated part of its oil cargo due to sanctions.

Lana, which had engine problems, was officially released in July. Anchored off Piraeus since then, it has retrieved the oil cargo that the United States had confiscated and is expected to sail back to Iran.

Iran has agreed that the tankers' crew will be replaced, allowing their return to their countries of origin soon, the union said in a statement on its website on Sunday.

It was not clear when the two Greek tankers, still in the Middle East Gulf, will be released, the union said.

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Russian Defense Minister Visits North Korea to Talk with Military and Political Leaders

In this photo taken from a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry press service, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, left, is welcomed by North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol upon his arrival at Pyongyang International Airport outside Pyongyang, North Korea Friday, Nov.29, 2024. (Russian Defense Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry press service, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, left, is welcomed by North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol upon his arrival at Pyongyang International Airport outside Pyongyang, North Korea Friday, Nov.29, 2024. (Russian Defense Press Service via AP)
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Russian Defense Minister Visits North Korea to Talk with Military and Political Leaders

In this photo taken from a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry press service, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, left, is welcomed by North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol upon his arrival at Pyongyang International Airport outside Pyongyang, North Korea Friday, Nov.29, 2024. (Russian Defense Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry press service, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, left, is welcomed by North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol upon his arrival at Pyongyang International Airport outside Pyongyang, North Korea Friday, Nov.29, 2024. (Russian Defense Press Service via AP)

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov arrived in North Korea on Friday for talks with North Korean military and political leaders as the countries deepen their alignment over Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The defense ministry in announcing the visit didn’t specify who Belousov would be meeting or the purpose of the talks. North Korean state media didn’t immediately confirm the visit.
Belousov, a former economist, replaced Sergei Shoigu as defense minister in May after Russian President Vladimir Putin started a fifth term in power.
The visit came days after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with a Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in the South Korean capital of Seoul and called for the two countries to formulate countermeasures in response to North Korea’s dispatch of thousands of troops to Russia in support of its fight against Ukraine.
The United States and its allies have said North Korea has sent more than 10,000 soldiers to Russia in recent weeks and that some of those troops were engaging in combat.
North Korea has also been accused of supplying artillery systems, missiles and other military equipment to Russia that may help Russian President Vladmir Putin further extend an almost three-year war. There are also concerns in Seoul that North Korea in exchange for its troops and arms supplies could receive Russian technology transfers that could potentially advance the threat posed by leader Kim Jong Un’s nuclear weapons and missile program.
Yoon’s national security adviser, Shin Wonsik, said in a TV interview last week that Seoul assesses that Russia has provided air defense missile systems to North Korea in exchange for sending its troops.
Shin said Russia has also appeared to have given economic assistance to North Korea and various military technologies, including those needed for the North’s efforts to build a reliable space-based surveillance system. Shin didn’t say whether Russia has already transferred sensitive nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technologies to North Korea.
The Russian media report about Belousov’s visit came as South Korea scrambled fighter jets to repel six Russian and five Chinese warplanes that temporarily entered the country’s air defense identification zone around its eastern and southern seas, according to the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The joint chiefs said the Russian and Chinese planes did not breach South Korea’s territorial airspace.