‘Retaliation’ thwarted

British escort turns away iranian attempt to Block tanker in latest escalation

The British navy intervened to stop iran from blocking a commercial oil tanker leaving the persian Gulf in what appeared to be a major escalation in tensions between iran and Western powers.

the tanker British heritage was approaching the northern entrance to the strait of hormuz when its British naval escort, hms montrose, “was forced to position herself between the iranian vessels” and the ship, a British government statement said.

the navy ship issued “verbal warnings to the iranian vessels, which then turned away,” it continued. “We are concerned by this action and continue to urge the iranian authorities to de-escalate the situation in the region,” the statement said.

iran denied that its forces challenged the isle of man-flagged

tanker, which is operated by the london-based oil and gas company Bp. in a statement carried by iranian news agencies, iran’s islamic revolutionary Guard Corps said there had been no confrontations with foreign vessels in the past 24 hours.

a u.s. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that an american aircraft captured footage of the iranian ships interacting with the British vessels.

the incident comes amid soaring tensions between iran and the West, including over iran’s moves to expand uranium enrichment in breach of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. tehran says it is responding to u.s. pressure following the trump administration’s decision to abandon the pact, which curbed iran’s nuclear energy activities in exchange for major sanctions relief.

the administration reimposed a near-total embargo on iran’s economy in the fall. since then, iran has urged the other signatories — including european nations — to deliver the economic benefits promised to tehran under the agreement.

last week, British forces assisted local law enforcement in apprehending an iranian supertanker in the mediterranean sea near the British territory of Gibraltar — a move iran denounced as “an act of piracy.”

The vessel was carrying oil to the Syrian refinery at Banias in violation of European Union sanctions, officials in Gibraltar said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Britain was trying to “increase tensions” by saying that the British Heritage was unable to pass through the strait, calling the government’s claims “worthless.” He said the seizure of the Iranian vessel was part of a campaign of U.s.-led “economic terrorism” against Iran.

During a confirmation hearing at the Senate Armed Services Committee, Army Gen. Mark Milley, Trump’s appointee for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to assign specific blame for the incident.

“There was an attempt — it appears to be that there was an attempt — by some small naval vessels to take over a commercial vessel,” Milley said. “The British had a military escort, and that took care of the situation . ... Having said that, the freedom of navigation is a fundamental principle and a norm for the international order that has been in place now for seven decades, and we play a crucial role to enforce that norm.”

The British Heritage traversed the Strait of Hormuz overnight and was sailing through the Gulf of Oman Thursday, according to open source tracking data. It was not believed to be carrying any cargo, according to shipping analysts.

A BP spokesman said that the company’s “top priority is the safety and security of our crews and vessels,” the BBC reported.

The simmering confrontation between Iran and Britain has centred on the Iranian supertanker detained in Gibraltar July 4. Iran has supported the government of Bashar al-assad with troops, oil and assets throughout Syria’s years-long civil war. Under a regulation adopted July 3, authorities are allowed to detain “specified ships” suspected of violating EU sanctions.

Authorities in Gibraltar arrested the captain and chief officer of Grace 1 on suspicion of breaching the sanctions Thursday, local media reported, quoting a spokesman for the Royal Gibraltar police. Documents and electronic devices were also seized, the Gibraltar Chronicle reported.

“The enemy is going to regret this act,” Rear Adm. Ali Fadavi, a deputy Revolutionary Guard commander, said Thursday of the tanker’s seizure, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported. “They would not have done it if they had done the minimum calculation.”

Richard Dalton, a former British ambassador to Iran, said that the denials from Iranian officials suggest the incident “wasn’t a calculated or authorized attempt” but rather a “political demonstration.”

He said that British officials “have been bracing themselves for retaliation” for the Grace 1 seizure.