Tasnim � Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said it is difficult to say whether Iran breached international rules by selling the Grace 1, now Adrian Darya 1, tanker�s oil, undercutting claims by London that the Islamic Republic had acted against assurances given to the territory.

�It is difficult to see whose word you�d take for it,� Picardo said on Friday, the National reported.

�You can see from the images that the oil has ended up in Syria but that�s not to say that there�s a breach of the undertaking (by Iran).�

UK foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Tuesday that Iran had shown disregard for its assurances over Adrian Darya 1.

Iran�s ambassador to the United Kingdom said the tanker had not violated any commitment to a third party by selling its oil to a private customer.

On July 4, Britain�s naval forces unlawfully seized Grace 1 on the pretext that it had been carrying crude to Syria in violation of the European Union�s sanctions against the Arab country. It was released from the British detention on August 15.

Tehran has repeatedly rejected London�s claim about the tanker�s destination while insisting that EU sanctions on Syria do not apply to third parties like Iran.

On July 16, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi denied that any assurances had been given to Gibraltar to release the tanker.

�Iran has given no assurances over the Grace 1 not going to Syria to secure its release,� he said.

�The tanker's destination was not Syria ... and even if it was, it did not concern anyone else.�