Iran states that the crew of an oil tanker is safe and warns the UK against rising tensions | Iran News



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Iran has warned the United Kingdom against escalating tensions between the two countries following the seizure of a British-flagged tanker, an act described as hostile by the British government.

Britain rejected Tehran's explanation that she seized the Stena Impero on Friday because he had been involved in an accident and had asked his ships to avoid the strait. Hormuz, a major oil pbadage.

"The British government should contain national political forces that want to exacerbate existing tensions between Iran and the UK far beyond the issue of ships.It is quite dangerous and reckless at a sensitive time in the region ", Hamid Baeidinejad, Isent from the runner to Great Britain, wrote on Twitter.

"Iran, however, is firm and ready for different scenarios," he said.

His remarks were made a day after Jeremy Hunt, British Foreign Secretary, said Tehran's actions showed "worrying signs that Iran could choose a dangerous path of illegal and destabilizing behavior."

Hunt – who also seeks to become the next leader of the British Conservative party, and by default the country's prime minister – The seizure is described as an "equals" situation, as it occurred a few hours after a Gibraltar court announced that it would extend the 30-day holding of the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 seized by the British authorities in the Mediterranean two weeks ago for allegations. of violation of UN sanctions against Syria.

Iran, which says the seized tanker endangers maritime safety and has opened an investigation, was provocative. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Iran's actions had been taken to "enforce" international maritime rules.

"The Revolutionary Guards reacted to Britain's hijacking of the Iranian oil tanker," parliament speaker Ali Larijani told reporters during a parliamentary session broadcast live on state radio. .

Dorsa Jaabari of Al Jazeera, reporting from Tehran, said the general sentiment in the Iranian capital "is that the Iranians have accomplished what they believe to be their due diligence to secure the waters of the Straits of Iran." ; Hormuz. "

The crew in good health

The ship was impounded with its 23 crew members aboard the port of Bandar Abbas after the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) seized it in the Hormuz Strait. Friday.

The IRGC released a video Saturday showing a vessel carrying Stena Impero marks surrounded by speedboats before the commandos descended from a helicopter rope aboard the ship.

Iran stopped the tanker on allegations of non-response to distress calls and turned off its transponder after hitting a fishing boat.

Its crew is made up of 18 Indians, including the captain, three Russians, a Latvian and a Filipino.

India, Latvia and the Philippines said that they had approached Iran to obtain the release of their nationals.

Allah-Morad Afifipoor, General Manager of the Port and Maritime Authority of Hormozgan Province, told Press Sunday Sunday that the entire crew of oil tanker Stena Impero was in healthy.

"We are ready to meet their needs, but we need to investigate the ship," he said.

"The investigation depends on the cooperation of the crew members aboard the ship, as well as our access to the necessary evidence to enable us to examine the matter."

Stena Bulk, the operator of Stena Impero based in Sweden, said the tanker was "fully compliant with all navigation and international regulations".

& # 39; Tit-for-tat & # 39;

The seizure has heightened tensions between Iran and Britain, party to Iran's multi-national nuclear deal in 2015. The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported Saturday that London was planning to take steps sanctions against Iran following the seizure of his tanker.

In a letter to the United Nations Security Council, Britain said that the tanker was approached by Iranian forces in Omani territorial waters where it exercised its legal right of pbadage and that this action "constituted unlawful interference" .

In a statement released Sunday, the Omani Foreign Ministry did not comment on the vessel's position but called on Iran and Britain to use diplomacy to resolve the situation.

Oman, which has warm ties with Iran, said he was in contact with all parties to secure the safe pbadage of ships in the vital strait of Hormuz and urged Tehran to release him.

Germany and France also called on Iran to release the Impero Stena, with the European Union expressing concern.

American-Iranian friction

Tensions in the Gulf have increased in recent weeks. US President Donald Trump canceled air raids against Iran at the last minute of June, after Iranian forces shot down a drone and accused Iran of several attacks.

The latest incidents also took place while Trump and US authorities insisted Thursday, despite Tehran's denial, that the US military had shot down an Iranian drone that was threatening an American ship in the USSR strait. ; Hormuz.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia, the rival of Tehran, has announced its intention to once again welcome US troops on its soil to enhance regional security.

Iran and the United States have been at odds since May 2018, when Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the nuclear deal and reimposed crippling sanctions.

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