Iran’s Supreme Leader accuses UK of ‘theft’ over tanker seizure

AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI, Iran’s Supreme Leader yesterday accused Britain of “theft” and “piracy” over the seizure of an Iranian oil tanker off the coast of Gibraltar, saying Iran would “not leave such evil deeds unanswered”.

The comments came during a televised address, as concerns grew about a Uae-based Gulf oil tanker, the MT Riah, which went missing in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. A US defence official said the US “has suspicions” the tanker has been seized by Iran, saying it disappeared near Qeshm, an island with an Iranian Revolutionary Guard base.

Tensions between Iran and the UK have escalated since the Iranian Grace 1 oil tanker was seized by Royal Marines earlier this month off the coast of Gibraltar. The supertanker, which was carrying 2.1million barrels of light crude oil, was detained on suspicion of violating EU sanctions by transporting the oil to Syria. Iranian officials have accused Britain of acting on behalf of the US in seizing the tanker.

Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, has insisted that the seizure of the tanker had nothing to do with the oil being from Iran.

He had offered on Saturday to arrange the tanker’s release if Iran provides guarantees that the cargo is not bound for Syria.

The Royal Navy has announced it will send a third warship, the HMS Kent, and a tanker, the HMS Wave Knight, to the Gulf but stressed that the deployment had long been planned and was not a reaction to recent events.

The Ayatollah’s remarks are likely to be rhetorical for now, says Sahil Shah, an Iran specialist at the European Leadership Network. “This language isn’t any stronger than anything they’ve said before,” he said.

“But there are multiple flashpoints across the region, both on land and water, through which Iran could raise the temperature on both the Americans and the Europeans.”

Iranian officials have given the EU a September deadline to offer a sufficient easing of US economic sanctions to convince it to continue abiding by the terms of the nuclear deal, in what many see as a last chance to calm tensions.