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The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has released a sequence showing a British tanker seized in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday.
The tanker Stena Impero "was confiscated by the Revolutionary Guards at the request of the port and maritime organization of Hormozgan during its pbadage in the Strait of Hormuz, for non-compliance with the rules international maritime transport ".
The video of the incident showed Iranian soldiers wearing black ski masks recalling a helicopter aboard the ship.
It also shows several small IRGC boats surrounding the largest tanker moving in the strait. A military helicopter flew over the sky and several men wearing black masks began abseiling on the ship.
The video was shot with at least two cameras, one of a boat looking like a speedboat and the other of the helicopter, which captured the men while they were there. were preparing to slip on a rope and were also taking aerial shots of the tanker.
IRGC Releases Video of When Its Forces Straddled #Britanique oil # #StenaImpero in #StraitOfHormuz. #Iran #IRGC #United Kingdom pic.twitter.com/29Q11mgzFP
– Press TV (@PressTV) July 20, 2019
The episode has aroused the condemnation of the United Kingdom and its European allies, who continue to call for de-escalation of tensions in the critical waterway.
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the British response "will be considered, but solid".
In comments on Twitter on Saturday, Hunt said he had spoken to his Iranian counterpart but was disappointed by the fact that Iran wanted to defuse the situation but "behaved in the opposite way".
"This has [to] be on the actions not the words if we have to find a way through. The British expedition must and will be protected, "said Hunt.
The COBR Government Emergency Committee met again at that time. The United Kingdom reiterated its desire to de-escalate but confirmed that Stena Impero had been seized in Omani waters, which was clearly contrary to international law. Parliament 2 be updated Monday
– Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) July 20, 2019
Iran's Minister Zarif just spoke and expressed his extreme disappointment after having badured that last Saturday, Iran wanted a disastrous situation that they behaved in the opposite direction. protect yourself
– Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) July 20, 2019
The free flow of traffic in the Strait of Ormuz is of international importance, as one-fifth of the world's crude oil exports are routed through the waterways of Middle Eastern exporters to countries around the world.
The narrow waterway is located between Iran and Oman.
Stena Impero's owner, Stena Bulk, said the vessel was stopped by "unidentified boats and a helicopter" during its transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
He was seized with a crew of 23 crew on board, although none are British.
According to Hunt, the seizure of the ship shows worrying signs that Iran may choose a dangerous and destabilizing route. He also defended the seizure of the Iranian supertanker badisted by the British army two weeks ago as a "legal" maneuver, the ship being suspected of having violated the sanctions imposed by the European Union on oil shipments to Syria. .
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has called the July 4 Iranian tanker seizure of "piracy" on Twitter, adding that the goal of Iran's Friday actions was to enforce the rules. international shipping.
Unlike piracy in the Strait of Gibraltar, our action in the Persian Gulf is to enforce international maritime rules.
As I said in New York, it is Iran that guarantees the security of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
UK must stop being an accessory to #Terrorism Economics the United States.
– Javad Zarif (@JZarif) July 20, 2019
Dorsa Jabbari of Al Jazeera, reporting from Tehran, said the spokesman of the IRGC added that a British warship was accompanying the tanker.
"The warship tried to intervene and prevent the guards from seizing this ship," Jabbari said.
"The ship will go through the required legal procedures before her release." "Iran was diligent in the waters of the Strait of Ormuz," she added, citing Iranian officials.
Iran's decision was condemned by the European signatories of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers.
Germany and France both called on Iran to immediately release the ship and its crew, with Berlin saying the seizure undermined all efforts to find a way out of the current crisis.
Europe has struggled to contain the tensions stemming from US President Donald Trump's decision to pull the United States from the Iranian nuclear deal, which lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for its program compliance nuclear.
Since then, Trump has re-imposed drastic sanctions on Iran, including its oil exports, and Iran has recently increased uranium enrichment levels beyond the limits. agree to put pressure on Europe to find a workaround to crippling economic sanctions.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
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