ATHENS, (Reuters) – Three sources close to the case said Wednesday that a Greek court overturned an earlier ruling that permitted the United States to confiscate a portion of a Iranian oil cargo on an Iranian flagged tanker.

Iran was furious at the incident and took two Greek tanks in the Gulf last month after Tehran threatened to take “punitive actions” against Athens.

One legal source claimed that Iran also appealed against the initial court’s decision. However, they declined to identify themselves.

According to a source, “The court has accepted the motion for the reversal” of the ruling. “It is difficult to overrule this (the decision of the appeal court).

The ruling was made in the Appeals Court of Chalkis. It wasn’t immediately known if either the U.S. government or the Greek government would contest it.

However, the outcome of this appeal is not yet public.

Greece called Iran’s capture of two Greek tanks in the Gulf “piracy”,

This case was brought to light by the April arrest of Greek authorities of Lana (formerly Pegas) under Iranian flag, along with 19 Russian crewmembers, close to the coast of Evia, due in part, to European Union sanctions.

Due to problems regarding the ship’s ownership, it was quickly released. After the original Greek court ruling, the United States took part of the Iranian oil cargo on board and transferred it to another vessel.

Greek authorities also took Lana back in a separate incident, following an interim court ruling regarding the alleged debts of another shipping company. This was represented by George Kozanidis.

Kozanidis refused to reveal the identity of the company he represented, but told Reuters the matter was related to unpaid services for towing.