12 July 2019 10:24 am
Three Iranian ships tried to “impede the passage” of a British commercial vessel as it travelled through the Strait of Hormuz, the Defence Ministry in London said
on Thursday.
The British Royal Navy’s HMS Montrose fended off the interception by moving in between the Iranian ships and the British commercial vessel, the Defence Ministry said.
The incident heightens tensions in the strategic waters near the Gulf, which is a vital global oil shipping route, and comes as Iran and the US are locked in a stand-off over the 2015 nuclear accord that Washington pulled out of last year.
Iranian President Hassan Rowhani was quoted by state media on Wednesday as vowing that there would be “repercussions” for Britain’s seizure of an Iranian oil tanker off Gibraltar last week.
The move sparked a diplomatic row between Britain and Iran, with Tehran summoning the British ambassador. Britain said it impounded the tanker on suspicion of violating EU sanctions against Syria.
US media, which first reported the latest incident citing unnamed US officials, said the British commercial vessel was threatened by armed Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats and the incident was filmed by a US aircraft overhead.
London (dpa), 11 July 2019
(rt.com) 11 Jul, 2019 - Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) denied reports that their patrol boats tried to stop a British oil tanker in the Persian Gulf. There were “no encounters” between the Iranian warships and foreign vessels at the time when the incident is alleged to have taken place, the IRGC’s naval unit said.