Brits talk Strait
Warning to Iran is heard in new audio
An audio recording released Sunday captures the dramatic moments as a British naval officer warned Iranian military forces against seizing a UKflagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, an incident that further roiled tense relations in the region.
An officer with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard tells the crew of the Stena Impero tanker, “If you obey, you’ll be safe,” and demands it change course in the showdown on Friday, according to the recording released Sunday by maritime security group Dryad Global.
“Alter your course to 360 degrees immediately, over,” the Iranian officer says.
A British naval officer aboard the HMS Montrose, a frigate that was patrolling the waters around the strait, informs the tanker that it should be able to proceed unimpeded in the international waterway.
“Sir, I reiterate that as you are conducting transit passage in a recognized international strait, under international law your passage must not be impaired, intruded, obstructed or hampered,” the British officer says.
He also warns the Iranian forces of the consequences of their actions.
“Please confirm that you are not intending to violate international law by unlawfully attempting to board,” the British officer says.
The Iranian patrol-boat crew member responds by saying the ship wants to stop the tanker for a security inspection.
“No challenge is intended, no challenge is intended. I want to inspect the ship for security reasons,” the officer says.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard released video on Saturday showing commandos carrying machine guns and wearing face masks rappelling from a helicopter to the deck of the Stena Impero.
UK officials said the HMS Montrose was about an hour away from the tanker — too far to intervene.
Iran said its commandeering of the ship was retaliation for Britain’s seizure of an Iranian tanker off the coast of Gibraltar on July 4.
Britain said the Iranian tanker, the Grace 1, was smuggling oil to Syria and has refused to release the vessel.
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt on Sunday said his government would describe how it will respond in an address to Parliament on Monday.
The seizure follows the United States’ downing of an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.
That incident came after President Trump in June called off a military strike against Iran for shooting down an unmanned US surveillance drone.
The US has also accused Iran of being behind attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman in an effort to disrupt international shipping lanes.
About a fifth of the world’s oil flows through the 23-mile-wide Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has been accused of trying to pressure European countries that are still participating in a 2015 nuclear deal to ease sanctions Trump reimposed on Tehran after withdrawing from the pact last year.