Britain on Monday said it was planning a European-led protection force for shipping in the Gulf after Iranian authorities seized a British-flagged tanker in a dramatic escalation of tensions in the region.
British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jeremy Hunt condemned Iran’s actions as “state piracy,” while at the same time emphasizing that Britain did not want confrontation.
“We will seek to establish this mission as quickly as possible,” Hunt said, adding that a second warship that Britain has sent to the region would arrive by Monday next week.
In a ramping up of tensions, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized the Stena Impero on Friday in the Strait of Hormuz.
The move came two weeks after British authorities seized an Iranian tanker off its overseas territory of Gibraltar on suspicion of breaching EU sanctions against Syria against a backdrop of brinkmanship between Washington and Tehran.
Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif said his country was not seeking confrontation with Britain in a message directed at its likely incoming leader Boris Johnson.
“It is very important for Boris Johnson as he enters 10 Downing Street to understand that Iran does not seek confrontation, that Iran wants normal relations based on mutual respect,” Zarif told reporters during a visit to Nicaragua.
He also accused Britain “of doing the bidding for [US President Donald] Trump administration.”
Hunt told parliament that the protection force “will not be part of the US maximum pressure policy on Iran, because we remain committed to preserving the Iran nuclear agreement.”
The US pulled out of the nuclear deal last year.
Iran impounded the tanker after claiming it failed to respond to distress calls and turned off its transponder after hitting a fishing boat.
However, Britain has said there was no evidence of a collision and said the vessel was in Omani waters, with its transponder switched on.
The EU has already expressed its “deep concern” at the move and on Monday German Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas said: “We don’t want any further escalation.”
There have been a number of attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz since May, when the US boosted its military presence in response to what it called indications of a “credible threat” from Iran.
The British government had warned its ships to avoid the shipping channel, a chokepoint for about a third of the world’s sea-borne oil.
Hunt said the volume of shipping made it impossible to protect every vessel individually.
Questions are being asked in London about why the government was not more proactive in protecting ships after the Gibraltar incident, which provoked fury and a threat of retaliation in Tehran.
Iranian authorities have said the crew of the British-flagged tanker — 18 Indians, including the captain, three Russians, a Latvian and a Filipino — are all in good health.
The fate of the Stena Impero depends on an investigation into its alleged breach of international maritime rules, they added.
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