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U.K. Warns Tankers to Stay Out of Strait of Hormuz After Iran Seizes Ship U.K. Warns Iran of ‘Serious Consequences’ for Seizing Oil Tanker
(about 3 hours later)
LONDON — Britain on Saturday warned ships to stay out of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route for the world’s oil supplies, as the government pressed Iran to release a British-owned oil tanker seized the previous evening, dramatically escalating tensions in the region. LONDON — Britain on Saturday warned Iran that “there will be serious consequences” for seizing a British-owned oil tanker the previous evening as the government warned ships to avoid the crucial shipping lanes of the Strait of Hormuz.
“We have advised U.K. shipping to stay out of the area for an interim period,” the British government said in a statement released early Saturday after an emergency meeting. “There will be serious consequences if the situation is not resolved,” the government warned. The British defense minister, Penny Mordaunt, said in a television interview on Saturday that the ship had been intercepted in Omani, not Iranian, waters and called the seizure “a hostile act.”
The capture of the tanker is a sharp step up after three months of rising tensions between Iran and the West that last month brought the United States within minutes of a military strike against targets in Iran. The British government said in a statement earlier on Saturday after an emergency meeting that it had “advised U.K. shipping to stay out of the area for an interim period.” By Saturday afternoon, Britain had summoned the Iranian ambassador to register its protest, and a second emergency cabinet meeting was set to begin.
A fifth of the world’s crude oil supply is shipped from the Persian Gulf through the narrow Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Iran, and oil prices spiked sharply on Friday even before the British warning. The capture of the tanker sharply escalates a crisis between Iran and the West after three months of rising tensions that last month brought the United States within minutes of a military strike against targets in Iran. A fifth of the world’s crude oil supply is shipped from the Persian Gulf through the narrow Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Iran, and oil prices spiked sharply on Friday even before the British warning.
Iranian news agencies reported that all 23 crew members of the British-flagged tanker would be held onboard in the Bandar Abbas Port in Iran during a criminal investigation of the ship’s actions. The nationalities of those crew members included Indian, Russian, Latvian and Filipino, the ship’s owner said in a statement. But the crisis has also caught Britain at a singularly vulnerable moment, with Prime Minister Theresa May expected to resign on Wednesday. As it seeks to craft a response to the seizure, the British government has been all but paralyzed by a leadership contest within the governing Conservative Party to determine her successor.
The Iranian authorities also added reasons for the seizure of the ship, saying for the first time on Saturday that the vessel had been involved in an accident with an Iranian fishing boat and that the tanker had ignored distress calls. What’s more, the favorite in the leadership race, Boris Johnson, a former foreign minister, is famously unpredictable. He has said during his campaign that he stands with the other European powers in their desire to avoid a confrontation with Iran. But Mr. Johnson has also sought closer ties to President Trump, who set the current cycle of confrontation in motion by attempting to squeeze Iran into renegotiating a 2015 nuclear accord with world powers.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which is in charge of Iranian naval activities in the Persian Gulf, said on Friday that it had seized the ship for deviating from traffic patterns and polluting the waters, but it had not mentioned any episode with a fishing boat. That has increased speculation that the clash over the tanker may move Britain out of its current opposition to Mr. Trump over the his feud with Iran. Britain has so far stood with the other European powers seeking to defy the president and preserve the accord.
“There has to come a moment where the British government, and maybe France and Germany ask, ‘Is it really worth fighting Trump on all these fronts?’” said Robin Niblett, director of Chatham House, a London research institute.
Setting the stage for a prolonged standoff, Iranian news agencies reported on Saturday that all 23 crew members of the British-flagged tanker would be held onboard in Iran’s Bandar Abbas Port during a criminal investigation of the ship’s actions.
None of the crew members is British or American; their nationalities include Indian, Russian, Latvian and Filipino, the ship’s owner said in a statement.
A spokesman for Iran’s powerful Guardian Council, which oversees major foreign policy decisions, sought on Saturday to justify the seizure as “reciprocal action” after British forces had impounded an Iranian tanker near Gibraltar two weeks earlier.
“The rule of reciprocal action is well known in international law,” the spokesman, Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, said, according to the semiofficial Fars news agency.
But other Iranian authorities on Saturday added different new rationales for the seizure of the ship, saying for the first time that the vessel had been involved in an accident with an Iranian fishing boat and that the tanker had ignored distress calls.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which is in charge of Iranian naval activities in the Persian Gulf, had said on Friday that it had seized the ship for deviating from traffic patterns and polluting the waters. The Revolutionary Guards had not mentioned a fishing boat.
Stena Bulk, the owner of the ship, Stena Impero, said the tanker had been in “full compliance with all navigation and international regulations” when it was intercepted.Stena Bulk, the owner of the ship, Stena Impero, said the tanker had been in “full compliance with all navigation and international regulations” when it was intercepted.
In Washington on Friday, President Trump called Iran “nothing but trouble.”In Washington on Friday, President Trump called Iran “nothing but trouble.”
“We’ll be working with the U.K.,” Mr. Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House. Referring in vague terms to the close American alliance with Britain, he added, “We have no written agreement, but I think we have an agreement that is longstanding.”“We’ll be working with the U.K.,” Mr. Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House. Referring in vague terms to the close American alliance with Britain, he added, “We have no written agreement, but I think we have an agreement that is longstanding.”
United States Central Command, the division of the military that oversees the Middle East, repeated in a statement late Friday that it was working on a “multinational effort” under the name Operation Sentinel to police the shipping routes. United States Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations, repeated in a statement late Friday that it was working on a “multinational effort” under the name Operation Sentinel to police the shipping routes.
The operation “will enable nations to provide escort to their flagged vessels while taking advantage of the cooperation of participating nations for coordination and enhanced maritime domain awareness and surveillance,” the statement said.The operation “will enable nations to provide escort to their flagged vessels while taking advantage of the cooperation of participating nations for coordination and enhanced maritime domain awareness and surveillance,” the statement said.
But it emphasized that Washington would not shoulder the burden alone: “While the United States has committed to supporting this initiative, contributions and leadership from regional and international partners will be required to succeed.”But it emphasized that Washington would not shoulder the burden alone: “While the United States has committed to supporting this initiative, contributions and leadership from regional and international partners will be required to succeed.”
France on Saturday called on Iran to respect “the principle of freedom of shipping in the Gulf,” according to a statement on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The German government strongly condemned Iran’s actions in a statement on Saturday, calling the seizure “unjustifiable.” “Another regional escalation would be very dangerous,” the statement said, adding it would “undermine all ongoing efforts to find a way out of the current crisis.” France in a statement on Saturday called on Iran to respect “the principle of freedom of shipping in the Gulf.” Germany strongly condemned Iran’s actions as “unjustifiable.”
Both countries urged Iran to free the ship and its crew as soon as possible. “Another regional escalation would be very dangerous” and “undermine all ongoing efforts to find a way out of the current crisis,” the German government warned in a statement.
The back-and-forth between Iran and the West has already included the imposition of sweeping new American economic sanctions followed by the calibrated resumption of an Iranian nuclear energy program that the West fears might lead to a nuclear bomb. The United States and Britain have accused Iran of sabotaging six tankers in a tacit threat to gulf shipping routes. Both United States and Iran have said it had shot down an unpiloted surveillance drone flown by the other side. The back-and-forth between Iran and the West has already included the imposition of sweeping new American economic sanctions. Iran has responded with the calibrated resumption of an Iranian nuclear energy program that the West fears might lead to a nuclear bomb.
In a vivid reminder that each minor collision risks the explosion of a more violent confrontation, Mr. Trump initially ordered the missile strike last month in retaliation for the Iranian downing of an American surveillance drone. He called the strike off only minutes before the launch. The United States and Britain have accused Iran of sabotaging six tankers in a tacit threat to gulf shipping routes. The United States and Iran have each said it had shot down an unpiloted surveillance drone flown by the other side.
Mr. Trump said the next day that he had concluded the missile strike would have been a disproportionate response. Then he later threatened the “obliteration” of parts of Iran if it targeted “anything American.” In a reminder that each minor collision risks the explosion of a more violent confrontation, Mr. Trump last month ordered a missile strike in retaliation for the Iranian downing of the American drone. He ultimately called the strike off only minutes before the launch.
At the core of the confrontation with the West is the Trump administration’s attempt to rip up and renegotiate a 2015 accord that the United States and other world powers had reached with Iran to limit its nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. Mr. Trump said the next day that he had concluded the loss of life from a missile strike would have been a disproportionate to the shooting down of a drone. But he later threatened the “obliteration” of parts of Iran if it targeted “anything American.”
At the core of the confrontation with the West is the Trump administration’s attempt to rip up and renegotiate the 2015 accord, which the United States and other world powers had reached with Iran to limit its nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.
Having pulled the United States out of the deal last year, the Trump administration added comprehensive sanctions in May that were intended to block all of Iran’s oil exports, the lifeblood of its economy. Iranian officials denounced the new penalties as “economic warfare.”Having pulled the United States out of the deal last year, the Trump administration added comprehensive sanctions in May that were intended to block all of Iran’s oil exports, the lifeblood of its economy. Iranian officials denounced the new penalties as “economic warfare.”
Iran has sought to push back against all the major powers, forcing them to feel some cost for their effective default on the promises 2015 accord as a result of Mr. Trump’s sanctions. The conflict with Washington has set the backdrop for a parallel clash with Britain that led to the seizure of the tanker. Iran has sought to push back against all the major powers, forcing them to feel some cost for their effective default on the promises 2015 accord as a result of Mr. Trump’s sanctions. That set the backdrop for a parallel clash with Britain that led to the seizure of the tanker.
This is a delicate moment for Britain. Its governing Conservative Party this coming week will pick a new prime minister — either Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt — and is set to leave the European Union on Oct. 31. Two weeks ago, the British military helped impound the Iranian tanker off Gibraltar on the suspicion that it was delivering oil to Syria in violation of European Union embargoes.
The current confrontation began this month, when the British military helped impound an Iranian tanker off the coast of Gibraltar on the suspicion that it was on its way to deliver oil to Syria in violation of European Union embargoes. Iranian officials called the seizure of their ship an act of piracy and accused Washington of masterminding the capture as part of its pressure campaign. Officers of the Revolutionary Guards threatened eye-for-an-eye retaliation against a British ship. Iranian boats sought unsuccessfully to stop one a few days later, but an accompanying British warship drove them away.
Iranian officials called the seizure of their ship an act of piracy and accused Washington of masterminding the capture as part of its pressure campaign. Officers of the Revolutionary Guards threatened to retaliate against a British ship, and Iran appears to have done so on Friday. Jeremy Hunt, the British foreign secretary, on Saturday charged that Iran’s seizure had violated international law but insisted that Britain had followed proper legal procedures in stopping the Iranian tanker, Grace 1, near Gibraltar.
Mr. Hunt, the British foreign secretary, on Saturday charged Iran with violating international law but asserted that Britain had followed proper legal procedures in stopping the Iranian tanker, Grace 1, near Gibraltar.
“Yesterday’s action in Gulf shows worrying signs Iran may be choosing a dangerous path of illegal and destabilising behaviour after Gibraltar’s LEGAL detention of oil bound for Syria,” Mr. Hunt wrote on Twitter Saturday morning.“Yesterday’s action in Gulf shows worrying signs Iran may be choosing a dangerous path of illegal and destabilising behaviour after Gibraltar’s LEGAL detention of oil bound for Syria,” Mr. Hunt wrote on Twitter Saturday morning.
“As I said yesterday our reaction will be considered but robust,” Mr. Hunt added. “We have been trying to find a way to resolve Grace1 issue but WILL ensure the safety of our shipping.”“As I said yesterday our reaction will be considered but robust,” Mr. Hunt added. “We have been trying to find a way to resolve Grace1 issue but WILL ensure the safety of our shipping.”
Britain has so far joined the other world powers in seeking to preserve the nuclear deal with Iran despite Mr. Trump’s opposition. European states have even attempted to set up an alternative trading platform that would allow Iran to evade the American sanctions. Mr. Hunt is challenging Mr. Johnson in the runoff within the Conservative Party to become Britain’s next prime minister. If Mr. Hunt loses, his role overseeing the standoff with Iran might keep him in the job for the immediate term in the interest of continuity. But the results would also put a question mark over his standing and staying power, further complicating the British response.
But of all the European powers, Britain is the most dubious toward Iran. If Britain chooses to join the United States in re-imposing sanctions on Iran, that would all but completely snuff out any hope of saving the 2015 accord. Even once a new prime minister takes office, Britain faces few good options, analysts said. The fate of the Iranian tanker impounded near Gibraltar is now in the hands of the courts there, and an early release of the ship to mollify the Iranians would “look very weak,” said Michael Stephens of the Royal United Services Institute, an independent research center.
“I don’t think we are in a position where we have the luxury of backing down,” he added.
That, in turn, adds to the pressure on the nuclear accord. Britain has so far collaborated with the other European powers in seeking to preserve the deal, even joining efforts to set up an alternative trading platform that would allow Iran to evade the American sanctions.
But of all the European powers, Britain is the most dubious toward Iran. If Britain chooses to join the United States in re-imposing sanctions on Iran, that would all but snuff out any hope of saving the 2015 accord.