Britain said on Thursday that Iranian military vessels tried to “impede the passage” of a UK oil tanker but were warned off by a British warship in a dramatic escalation of tensions with Tehran in the Gulf.
The incident in the narrow but busy Strait of Hormuz occurred on Wednesday after President Donald Trump ratched up his own administration’s pressure even further by warning that sanctions against the Islamic Republic would be “increased substantially” soon.
CNN initially reported that Iranian boats attempted to seize the British tanker but were driven off by a Royal Navy frigate.
The UK defence ministry said only that the Iranian boats tried to “impede” a commercial vessel called British Heritage, which is owned by British energy giant BP.
“Contrary to international law, three Iranian vessels attempted to impede the passage of a commercial vessel, British Heritage, through the Strait of Hormuz,” the UK defence ministry said in a statement.
“HMS Montrose was forced to position herself between the Iranian vessels and British Heritage and issue verbal warnings to the Iranian vessels, which then turned away.”
Source: Guardian Newspaper
