UK 'deeply concerned' on British ship seizure

By Muhammad Mussa

LONDON (AA) - The U.K. government has said that it is highly concerned over the seizure of a British oil tanker by Iran in the Persian Gulf.

Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt called the seizure by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp “unacceptable” and warned of “serious consequences” for Iran if the situation was not resolved quickly.

“This is completely unacceptable. Freedom of navigation must be maintained, we will respond in a way that is considered but robust and we are absolutely clear that if this situation is not resolved quickly there will be serious consequences” Hunt told the BBC News in a statement.

“We are not looking at military options, we are looking at a diplomatic way to resolve the situation. But we are very clear that it must be resolved, freedom of navigation in the Gulf is absolutely essential and if that freedom of navigation is restricted, Iran is the biggest loser and it is in their interest to resolve this as quickly as possible” Hunt added.

The foreign secretary said that he spoke to U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo and discussed the developing situation and tried to speak to Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif but was not able to contact him as he was on a plane.

Following the seizure, the government convened an emergency ‘Cobra’ meeting to assess the situation in the Gulf and gather more information regarding the location of two oil tankers, one British flagged and one British owned.

On Friday, the Stena Impero was seized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp. According to Hunt, the tanker was surrounded by four vessels and a helicopter and was rerouted into Iranian waters. Although the ship is U.K. owned, none of the 23 crew members are British.

The second ship, the Mesdar, which is Liberian flagged but managed by a British company, was surrounded by ten speed boats and is believed to be escorted into Iranian waters but the foreign secretary has said that the location of the ship is unclear.

Last week, a British warship prevented three Iranian navy vessels from obstructing the course of a British tanker exiting the Persian Gulf. The government accused Iran of breaching international law as the tanker was not in Iranian waters.

Moreover, the U.K. dispatched a second warship to the Persian Gulf to support U.K. forces in the region and to ensure the safety of British commercial ships.

Royal navy marines and commandos boarded the Syria-bound Iranian oil tanker on 4 July in Gibraltar, preventing the vessel from entering the Mediterranean.

Iran has demanded the release of its crew and vessel, accusing the royal navy of piracy and has threatened London of retaliatory measures, rhetoric that is raising tensions between the two nations in a region already inflamed with war and brinkmanship with the west.

The EU imposed a series of sanctions against the Assad regime in response to the heavy crackdown on peaceful demonstrations in 2011 and the ensuing civil war.