Gibraltar Decides to Free Seized Iranian Tanker; US Opens New Case to Hold It

A small boat sails past Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 as it sits anchored after it was seized in July by British Royal Marines off the coast of the British Mediterranean territory on suspicion of violating sanctions against Syria, in the Strait of Gibraltar, southern Spain on Aug. 13, 2019. Jon Nazca/File Photo/Reuters

LONDON/GIBRALTAR—Britain’s Mediterranean territory Gibraltar decided on Thursday to free a seized Iranian oil tanker after the United States launched a new, last-minute legal bid to hold it.

The Grace 1 was seized by British Royal Marine commandos in darkness off the coast of the territory at the western mouth of the Mediterranean on July 4 on suspicion of violating European Union sanctions by taking oil to Syria.