ABANDONED Why didn’t British tanker have military

ARMED convoys must escort British ships through the Gulf to stop them being snatched by Iranian forces, the ex-head of the Royal Navy has demanded.

Admiral Lord West insisted: “If Iranian ships try to attack them, you sink them. They are the ones who have escalated things by attacking one of our merchant ships.”

Lord West, former First Sea Lord and Chief of Defence Intelligence, was speaking as it was revealed Iran may have used Russian technology to fake GPS signals and lure British tanker Stena Impero to its fate on Friday.

The ship, with 23 crew on board, was boarded by

Iranian commandos in ski masks, armed with machine guns. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned yesterday the vessel had been seized in Omani waters in “clear contravention of international law”.

Lord West – given the Distinguished Service Cross after his ship was sunk by Argentine planes during the Falklands War – said the rules of engagement should be clear: “If they attack one of our merchants ships then they get their comeuppance.”

He added: “Further discussions with Iran are very important. We should be trying to get America to the table to discuss a deal and try and re-energise the deal that was there before.”

The possible link with Russia is being urgently probed by GCHQ and MI6, security sources have revealed.

Spy chiefs were aware they have the ability to “spoof” GPS signals and fool ships into false location readings, meaning the tanker may have thought it was a safe distance from Iranian waters as it headed into a Tehran trap.

Brazen

British commanders have been surprised by the brazen and confident nature of the seizure – adding weight to the theory of GPS interference.

A western security source said: “The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Russian intelligence have worked closely together in Syria.

“Russia has the technology to spoof GPS and may have helped in this venture. It would make British shipping extremely vulnerable in the region.” The IRGC is a 125,000-strong branch of the Iranian Armed Forces introduced to protect the state against foreign interference.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard released footage showing its commandos abseiling onto the Stena Impero’s deck.

And they directly linked the seizure with Britain’s role in detaining a tanker carrying Iranian oil earlier this month.

A spokesman for Iran’s Guardian Council was quoted as saying: “The rule of reciprocal action is well known in international law.”

A Royal Navy warship had raced to help the Impero in the Strait of Hormuz – but arrived ten minutes too late.

HMS Montrose was ordered into the area while patrolling the Gulf.

Sources have revealed Britain will also now send a nuclear powered attack submarine to the Gulf. But they insisted the Astute-class submarine – possibly HMS Ambush – would perform a purely defensive role, using sophisticated electronic intelligence gathering equipment to safeguard shipping.

British special forces and regular troops across the Middle East, working against Islamic State, have also been put on high alert. It is feared Iran’s IRGC or its proxy forces – terrorist