[ad_1]
Multimedia playback is not supported on your device
The Foreign Secretary urged Iran to cancel the "illegal" seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf.
Jeremy Hunt said that "this raises very serious questions" about the safety of British and international shipping in the Strait of Ormuz.
This comes as Iran has released new footage of Friday's capture of Stena Impero.
Tehran said the ship "violates international maritime rules".
Speaking after a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Mr Hunt said Iran considered that it was "an irreproachable situation" as a result of the holding of an Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar.
But he said "nothing could be further from the truth".
The owners of Stena Impero said they want to access the 23 crew members, in good health.
What happened?
The Stena Impero was seized Friday by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards on a major shipping lane in the Gulf.
Images appeared Saturday to show the moment when the tanker was raided.
It was published by the Fars news agency, affiliated with Revolutionary Guards.
It shows masked forces dropping ropes on the ship from a helicopter after it was surrounded by high-speed ships and headed for Iranian waters.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency, IRNA, said the tanker was seized after hitting a fishing boat and failed to respond to calls from smaller vessels.
But Mr Hunt said he was seized in Omani waters in "flagrant violation of international law" and then forced to visit Iran.
The Swedish owner of Stena Impero, Stena Bulk, said that she had fully complied with the regulations and that she was in international waters at the time.
The 23 crew members, of Indian, Russian, Latvian and Filipino origin, were in good health.
Another United Kingdom-flagged oil tanker, the MV Mesdar, was also attacked by armed guards the same day but was released.
This took place after the Royal Marines helped seize the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 off Gibraltar earlier this month, citing evidence that it was carrying oil to Syria in violation of sanctions imposed by the oil company. 39; EU.
Iran described the incident as "piracy," but Hunt said Grace 1 was legally detained in Gibraltar waters and "totally legal."
On Saturday, British ministers held an emergency meeting of Cobra and a senior Iranian diplomat was summoned to the Foreign Office in London.
Subsequently, Hunt said MPs would be notified on Monday of the measures to be taken by the government, adding that the level of threat had been raised to the highest level of alert.
"Our priority is to find a way to defuse the situation," he said.
A spokeswoman for the British government said earlier that she had advised British companies to stay out of the region.
What does Iran say?
Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted that the United Kingdom "must cease to be an accessory to the #Terrorism of the United States".
He said that it was Iran that guaranteed the security of the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
Multimedia playback is not supported on your device
"Unlike piracy in the Straits of Gibraltar, our action in the Persian Gulf is to respect international maritime rules," he said.
Abbasali Kadkhodaei, spokesperson for the Guardian Council's Supervisory Board, says on Twitter that "the right of retaliation is a concept recognized in international law" shortly after the announcement of the seizure of the ship.
What is the context of this?
The latest developments come as relations between Iran and the United Kingdom and the United States deteriorate.
Tensions between the United States and Iran have risen sharply since April, when the United States tightened sanctions that they had reimposed on Iran after unilaterally withdrawing from the United States. the 2015 nuclear agreement.
The United States has accused Iran of attacking tankers in the main international shipping area since May. Tehran denied all the accusations.
Friday, the United States claimed to have destroyed an Iranian drone in the Gulf.
Unlike the United States, the British government remains committed to the nuclear deal, which is slowing Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for easing sanctions tensions.
However, the UK's decision to help seize the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 off Gibraltar earlier this month has angered Iran.
On Friday, Gibraltar granted a 30-day extension to allow the authorities to continue detaining the oil tanker, suspected of carrying oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions.
In retaliation for the seizure, Iran had threatened to seize a British tanker.
A week later, Iranian boats tried to prevent a British tanker from traveling to the area before being warned by a Royal Navy ship, according to the Defense Ministry. Iran has denied any attempt at seizure.
International reaction
A spokesman for the National Security Council of the White House said the latest incident on Friday was the second time in just one week that the UK was "the target of growing violence" by the United States. # 39; Iran.
And the US Central Command said it was developing a multinational maritime effort in response to the situation.
The US military said it wanted to promote maritime stability, ensure safe pbadage and defuse tensions in international waters in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, the Strait of Bab el Mandeb and the Gulf of Oman.
The Pentagon said US troops were deployed in Saudi Arabia to defend US interests in the region against "emerging and credible threats."
France and Germany have called on the Iranian authorities to quickly release the Impero Stena.
Also calling for the release of the ship, the European Union's foreign affairs office, which represents 28 member states, expressed "deep concern" and called for "restraint to avoid further tensions".
"A predictable crisis"
The first thing to remember is that this specific line between Tehran and London is just one aspect of an already unstable situation in the Gulf.
The Trump administration's decision to break with the international nuclear deal with Iran and reapply the sanctions has an extremely damaging impact on the Iranian economy.
Iran is pushing back.
Given the extremely fragile and unstable situation in the Gulf, as well as the imperative need to strengthen the Iranian nuclear deal, was it advisable to retain the ship carrying Iranian oil off Gibraltar?
- Read more Jonathan's badysis
How is the oil tanker British?
Ships must fly the flag of a nation-state, says Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of the marine intelligence publication Lloyd's List.
They have to be registered in one country, but it does not have to be the same country as their owners, nor have a relationship with the cargo, he says. But there must be a link with the United Kingdom.
"But your definition of the United Kingdom is relative," said Mr. Meade.
The Stena Impero belongs to Sweden and has on board Indians, Russians, Latvians and Filipinos.
But it's the British flag that has a symbolic importance, he says. "Historically, this means that the UK must protect the ship."
"The United Kingdom has political responsibilities towards everything that is reported, and that is why it's much more serious than it just happened to be a British captain aboard . "
He stressed that while this was a political problem, its impact on trade in the region had been minimal.
But he warns that if the international community begins to consider the Strait of Hormuz as a dangerous place, it could create a "very different" scenario.
UK faces "delicate dilemma"
Defense, intelligence and diplomatic figures attending the government's crisis meetings on Cobra with the Iranian government face a difficult dilemma.
It is clear that British-flagged or British-owned vessels in the Gulf must be protected, but the Royal Navy does not have enough surface ships to do the job alone.
This should be part of a multinational force such as Operation Sentinel proposed by the US Central Command.
The US Navy has a lot of ships in the Gulf – its powerful 5th Fleet is based in Bahrain – but that's where the problem lies.
Britain and its EU partners are not on the same footing as Washington in terms of the more comprehensive policy of relations with Iran.
The United States withdrew from the nuclear deal, while Europe is trying to keep it alive.
Some on this side of the Atlantic are therefore reluctant to identify too closely with a US bellicose attitude towards Iran or to take action that could be interpreted as an escalation of an already explosive situation.
[ad_2]
Source link
