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LAST UPDATE | 20 Jul 2019
IRAN HAS SO far ignored mounting European appeals to release a British-flagged oil tanker despite Britain warning that the country would face “serious consequences” if the issue is not resolved.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it seized the Stena Impero yesterday for breaking “international maritime rules” in the Strait of Hormuz.
The tanker was impounded off Bandar Abbas port for allegedly failing to respond to distress calls and turning off its transponder after colliding with a fishing vessel, Iranian authorities said, adding an investigation had been launched.
It was one of two ships Britain said Iran seized in the Gulf, but the UK owner of the Liberian-flagged Mesdar said it had been later released after being boarded by armed personnel.
That came hours after a court in Gibraltar said it would extend by 30 days the detention of an Iranian tanker seized by British authorities two weeks ago amid allegations of breaching EU sanctions against Syria.
The Guards said on Thursday they also seized another “foreign tanker” and its crew a few days earlier for allegedly smuggling fuel, without giving further details.
In London, the Foreign Office today summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires to a meeting.
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the seizure of the ship showed “worrying signs Iran may be choosing a dangerous path of illegal and destabilising behaviour”.
His government, which met twice for emergency sessions yesterday, advised British ships to avoid the Strait of Hormuz for “an interim period”.
Hunt earlier warned that there would be “serious consequences” if the issue was not resolved quickly.
Jeremy Hunt / TwitterJust spoke 2 Iranian FM Zarif &expressed extreme disappointment that having assured me last Sat Iran wanted 2 deescalate situation they have behaved in the opposite way.This has 2 be about actions not words if we are to find a way through.British shipping must & will be protected
— Sir Jeremy Hunt MP (@Jeremy_Hunt) July 20, 2019
Germany and France also urged Iran to release the tanker, whose seizure Berlin called a “dangerous further aggravation of an already tense situation”.
US President Donald Trump said yesterday’s incident “only goes to show what I’m saying about Iran: trouble. Nothing but trouble [sic]“.
However, Iran has so far remained defiant. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran’s “action in the Persian Gulf is to uphold” international maritime rules.
“It is IRAN that guarantees the security of the Persian Gulf & the Strait of Hormuz. UK must cease being an accessory to #EconomicTerrorism of the US,” he tweeted.
Mounting tensions
The latest incidents occurred as US President Donald Trump insisted yesterday that the US military had downed an Iranian drone that was threatening an American naval vessel in the Strait of Hormuz — through which nearly a third of the world’s oil is transported — despite denials from Tehran.
Tensions in the Gulf have soared in recent weeks, with Trump calling off airstrikes against Iran at the last minute in June after Tehran downed a US drone, and blaming Iran for a series of tanker attacks.
The Stena Impero tanker “was confiscated … for failing to respect international maritime rules,” a statement on the Revolutionary Guards’ official website Sepahnews said.
The tanker “was led to the shore and handed over to the organisation to go through the legal procedure and required investigations”, it added.
Tanker tracking service Marine Traffic showed that the Swedish-owned Stena Impero last signalled its location near the island of Larak at around 4.30pm Irish time.
The ship was transiting the Strait of Hormuz and in “international waters” when it was “attacked by unidentified small crafts and a helicopter”, the owner said.
“We are presently unable to contact the vessel which is now tracking as heading north towards Iran,” a statement said.
War of words
Hours before the latest incident, Iran and the United States were caught in a new war of words.
Trump yesterday reiterated a claim that Washington destroyed an Iranian drone that was threatening the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran denied the allegation, and deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi tweeted that US forces may have shot down a US drone by mistake.
The Revolutionary Guards released a video which they said belies the US claims. The seven-minute-long footage, apparently shot from high altitude, shows a convoy of ships which the Guards said they were tracking as they passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
The ships in the footage could not be immediately identified, although one was similar to the USS Boxer. Earlier a US official said Washington has “very clear evidence” that it downed the drone, but gave no details.
Suzanne Maloney, an Iran expert at the Brookings Institution, said the recent events involving Tehran are “the exact opposite of odd”.
“This is precisely how Iran negotiates: the unctuous charm of (Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad) Zarif paired with a punch in the face from the (Revolutionary Guards). They are two sides of the same coin, complementary and coordinated.”
As tensions soared, Tehran’s arch rival Saudi Arabia announced yesterday that it would once again host US troops on its soil to boost regional security.
The Pentagon said the deployment “ensures our ability to defend our forces and interests in the region from emergent, credible threats”.
The US military also said it had patrol aircraft monitoring the Strait of Hormuz, and was developing a “multinational maritime effort” dubbed Operation Sentinel to increase surveillance and security in key Middle East waterways.
The operation will “enable freedom of navigation in the region and protect vital shipping lanes,” US Central Command said in a statement.
Nuclear standoff
The latest escalation comes more than a year after Washington DC unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement and began ratcheting up sanctions against Tehran.
Yesterday Trump spoke with French president Emmanuel Macron, the White House said, with the leaders discussing “ongoing efforts to ensure Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon”.
Earlier this month, Iran purposely overshot the deal’s caps on uranium enrichment, aiming to pressure the remaining parties to make good on their promises to help prop up its economy.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz if attacked.
- © AFP 2019 , with reporting by Órla Ryan
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Sounds like we could have yet another ‘Gulf of Tonkin’ incident some time soon.
The US and British need to be held fully accountable as a nation and individually accountable for their actions in these conflicts.
@Mark Edwards: It transpired afterwards of course that the Gulf of Tonkin incident was entirely manufactured to give America the excuse it needed to join the war in Vietnam. Iran’s actions are reprehensible but not unexpected. They said they would retaliate after one of their tankers was recently seized in a similar manner and they have been true to their word.
@Sean: and they lost the war..
@Dominic Leleu: Vi Victus!
The tanker is being held under investigation for an alleged incident involving a collision with a fishing vessel and subsequently ignoring the fishermen’s Mayday call. If the shoe was on the other foot, the British Navy would do exactly the same thing.
@Shea Fitzgerald: Agreed, Iran are only upholding international law by seizing this ship, in exactly the same circumstances as the english attacking the Iranian ship.
@Cal Mooney: plonker
Quid pro quo . The U.K. and Gibraltar behaves like USA puppies apprehending a boat in Gibraltar strait under false premises .
EU sanctions on Syria are set out in two documents: Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP and Council Regulation (EU) 36/2012. They only cover imports into EU and the only export it contemplates is jet fuel , which is not the Gibraltar tanker cargo . in fact , the tanker is too deep for Syrian port U.K. and Gibraltar claim as destination . Pirates
The yanks need a war every few years. No point spending billions on hi tech weapons and not get the chance to try them out.
Another middle east war on the horizon, oil oil
Dont give in, Iran.
Ah yes, just what the Boris needs now. A war should boost his ratings.
@Fr. Fintan Stack: you should put all their heads through a wall
Nothing good will come of this.
More tough talking from the toothless tiger. After Crimea we had that fool William Haig prancing around the world stage declaring “Mr Putin, there will be consequences”. Eh…I’m still waiting? Might need to send their new aircraft carrier provided it’s not leaking or breaking down every five minutes!!!!
@Paul Shepherd: It needs a few planes on it first. Dept of Defence finding it hard to afford them too!!
I am sure the Iranians are trembling!! . The British empire is long gone, now they are a puppet state of the Americans. Desperate to do the Yanks dirty work and gain their approval.
This is not good
America are seriously looking for another proxy war here. Their arms stockpiles must be at their highest lelvels since Iraq and that’s considering the $3.8 Billion they give to Isreal each year to bomb Gaza and Syria, since Assad is too busy fighting mercenaries to retaliate.
@Denis McClean: congrats there denis
You managed to include all your biases in a few short sentences
How many lives will be lost to satisfy the bloated ego’s of the war mongers.
Eye for an eye…
Regime change coming soon….
@James Wormold: The regime in Westminster or the white house?
So I guess petrol/diesel will be going up
I hope Iran blows the living $h |te out of them.
I thought after all the comments a few weeks ago that trump made up the attacks. (False flag bull) . People were saying that the black and white video was not evidence of an attack by Iran. How do you explain this? Maybe trump gave the Iranians the idea, or maybe he’s Colluding with another foreign government again.
@james s: hahah that video was lies even the Japanese didn’t believe it
have your say