Iran says it will present Gulf security plan to United Nations

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday said that Iran would present a regional peace plan to the United Nations at the General Assembly in New York this week, after the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure and the US order to deploy more troops to the region in response.

"In this sensitive and important historical moment, we announce to our neighbours, that we extend the hand of friendship and brotherhood to them," he said.

Mr Rouhani's statement came as an Iranian official announced the British-flagged Stena Impero tanker would shortly be released from detention in the country's Bandar Abbas port, state news agency Fars reported.

Iran detained the Stena Bulk tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on July 19, two weeks after the Gibraltar government detained the Iranian Grace 1 tanker on suspicion of violating EU sanctions by transporting oil to Syria.

Stena Impero and its 16 remaining crew will "begin its movement from the port of Bandar Abbas toward international waters," said Allahmorad Afifipour,head of the Ports and Maritime Organisation in Hormozgan Province. Mr Afifpour did not reveal exactly when the tanker would be released.

In his speech on Sunday, Mr Rouhani called on the foreign powers in the Gulf region to "stay away".