National Post (National Edition)
IRAN TRIED TO BLOCK BRITISH SHIP: NAVY
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES • 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 strait when its British naval escort, the 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 it 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.
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,” he said. “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.
“We thank the Royal Navy for their support,” the spokesman said.
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.
The Washington Post, with files
from The Daily Telegraph