GENEVA, July 20 (Reuters)

An Iranian ship which had gone to Jeddah port in Saudi Arabia because of technical problems in May is heading back to Iran, Iran's ISNA news agency reported on Saturday.

There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities.

The Mehr news agency reported in early July that Saudi officials were not allowing the ship, the Happiness 1, to leave the port because of a dispute over the payment of repair costs.

Iran and Saudi Arabia are arch-adversaries in the Middle East, backing opposite sides in several regional conflicts. (Reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh Editing by Peter Graff)