U.K. to send second warship to Gulf

‘Responsibility’ to protect British shipping

Britain is sending a second warship to the Gulf amid rising tensions with Iran and as it discusses with the U.S. the possibility of building up its military presence in the area.

Relations between Tehran and the West have been under increasing strain after U.K. authorities seized an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar heading for Syria and a Royal Navy ship was harassed by Revolutionary Guards in the Strait of Hormuz this week.

HMS Duncan, a Type 45 destroyer and one of the most advanced warships in the world, will sail to the Gulf in the coming days to provide support to HMS Montrose.

It is understood that the destroyer with a crew of 280 was already due to travel to the region, but its deployment was brought forward in light of recent events.

Jeremy Hunt, the U.K. foreign secretary, said the move was “about our responsibility to do everything we can to protect British shipping.” His comments came after a disclosure by Theresa May’s office that Britain was talking to the U.S. about building up its presence in the strategic choke point.

“But this is not an Iran-specific issue,” Hunt added. “Notwithstanding the broader tensions in the region, this is about Syria and about a breach of the sanctions against Syria, which of course is a country that Iran is active in.”

While not strictly linked, the fate of the impounded Iranian oil tanker, Grace 1, has become associated with the survival of the nuclear deal. On Thursday, Iran called on Britain to release the vessel and warned foreign powers to “leave the region because Iran and other regional countries are capable of securing the regional security.”

Abbas Mousavi, spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, told the IRNA news agency: “This is a dangerous game and has consequences ... The legal pretexts for the capture are not valid ... The release of the tanker is in all countries’ interests.”

Sources have suggested that Grace 1 was seized in accordance with U.S. instructions, but Gibraltar’s chief minister stated that no other government was involved.

“There has been no political request at any time from any government that Gibraltar should act or not act on one basis or another,” Fabian Picardo told parliament, revealing that the vessel had been carrying 2.1 million barrels of light crude.

Meanwhile Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has urged Britain to stick with Europe in trying to save the nuclear accord with Iran, cautioning that Tehran is “very far off” a nuclear weapon.

ElBaradei called Tehran’s further enriching of uranium — at 4.5 per cent in excess of the 3.7 per cent cap agreed in the 2015 deal — “child’s play” and a long way short of the 90 per cent that would be required to make a bomb.