HOW IT ALL UNFOLDED
CURRENT tensions in the gulf were simmering for more than a month before the capture of the Uk-flagged Stena Impero...
June 13: Two US oil tankers are attacked near the Strait of Hormuz in an assault that left one ablaze and adrift. President Donald Trump blamed Iran but Iran denied involvement and accused the US of promoting an “Iranophobic” campaign.
June 20: Tehran downs a US military drone, which President Hassan Rouhani claims violated their airspace. Mr Trump cancels retaliatory strikes against Iran after claiming he was told 150 people could die.
July 4: Royal Marines are involved in an operation to seize Iranian supertanker Grace 1 off Gibraltar, which is suspected of carrying oil destined for Bashar Assad’s Syrian regime in breach of EU sanctions. Iran’s revolutionary guard warns a British oil tanker could be seized in retaliation.
July 10: Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose drives off three Iranian vessels trying to stop the commercial ship British Heritage.
July 11: Police in Gibraltar arrest the captain and chief officer of the Grace 1 in relation to suspected violations of EU sanctions on Syria. Two days later the force says the captain, chief officer and two second officers were conditionally bailed without charge.
July 13: In a telephone call with Iranian foreign minister
Mohammad Javad
Zarif, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt offers to facilitate Grace 1’s release in return for guarantees Tehran will not breach EU sanctions on the Assad regime in Syria.
July 15: Mr Hunt attends a Brussels meeting on the Iran nuclear deal. Both he and Tory leadership rival Boris Johnson later rule out supporting Mr Trump if he pursues military action in the Gulf.
July 17: US officials say they suspect Iran has seized a Panamanian- flagged tanker from the UAE as it travelled through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran later says its Revolutionary Guard seized a foreign oil tanker and its crew of 12 for smuggling fuel out of the country.
July 18: Mr Trump says the USS Boxer shot down an Iranian drone that came within 1,000 yards of the warship. Iran denies a drone loss in the Strait of Hormuz.
July 19: Two tankers are reported to have been seized by Iran. The Stena Impero, registered in the UK, was seized by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in the Strait of Hormuz for “violating international maritime rules”, the semi- official Fars news agency said. A second tanker, the Liberia-flagged Mesdar, managed by Glasgow- based firm Norbulk Shipping UK, appeared to veer off course to the Iranian coast.
The Mesdar’s operator said it was boarded by armed guards but the crew were left “safe and well” and allowed to continue sailing.
Mr Hunt called the ships’ seizure “unacceptable” and attended a meeting of the Government’s Cobra emergency committee.