Britain says seizures of UK vessels by Iran are ‘unacceptable’
RT | July 19, 2019
UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has warned Iran of consequences for seizing two vessels in the Gulf, one of which has now been released. London’s response will be “robust” but not military, he said.
“We will respond in a way that is considered but robust,” Hunt told journalists, adding that the UK hopes to resolve the crisis through diplomacy and “is not looking” at military options.
Hunt said that he has already discussed the incident with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and looks forward to talking to his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif. Denouncing the seizures as “unacceptable,” Hunt argued that Tehran would be “the biggest loser” if “freedom of navigation is restricted.”
Hunt said that there are no British citizens among the crew members of either ship. He also added that the British ambassador in Tehran has already contacted the Iranian Foreign Ministry in an attempt to resolve the situation.
Earlier on Friday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Iran’s elite military force – said it has seized the British oil tanker Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz over failure to “respect the international maritime rules.” The vessel sailing to Saudi Arabia was seen changing its course and heading north towards the Iranian island of Qeshm, marine tracking data showed.
The company owning the vessel, Stena Bulk, said it lost contact with the ship and that it was approached by “unidentified” small vessels before changing course.
Later the same day, another tanker owned by a British company – Norbulk Shipping UK Ltd – the Liberian-flagged ship Mesdar – also suddenly changed its course to Saudi Arabia and sailed to the Iranian mainland. This time, Tehran has not officially confirmed its seizure.
The tanker was apparently released later in the day, with tracking data showing the vessel changing course and heading westward and away from Iran late on Friday. The Iranian private Tasnim news agency reported that the British-owned Mesdar was cleared to continue its course, after having received a warning from the authorities over safety and environmental issues.
Norbulk has confirmed that the ship has resumed its travel towards Saudi Arabia, adding that the crew was “safe and well.”
“Communication has been re-established with the vessel and Master confirmed that the armed guards have left and the vessel is free to continue the voyage. All crew are safe and well,” the company said in a statement.
Tehran and London have been locked in a bitter row ever since a super tanker Grace 1 carrying Iranian crude oil was seized by the British marines in the Strait of Gibraltar on suspicion of violating the EU sanctions against Syria.
Tehran denied these accusations while calling the Gibraltar’s justification of detention laughable. Iran also accused the UK of acting on behalf of the US.
Washington has long sought to pressure Tehran into concessions on its nuclear and missile programs while repeatedly vowing to bring its oil exports down to zero with sanctions. It has also recently sent a naval group led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to rehearse a possible strike against Iran while calling to form a “coalition” ostensively to defend the freedom of navigation.
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From the Archives
Is this a War?
Resetting the relationship between The State and The Citizen
LIES ARE UNBEKOMING | NOVEMBER 6, 2021
I’ve been wondering for quite some time about whether we are in a War and the resolution of my thoughts on the subject has recently improved.
Oddly enough, I have some standing on the subject.
I lived in Iraq between 1981 to 1991, a period that covered almost all of the Iraq/Iran War and all of the Gulf War, the original, not the sequels.
It was an old school type of war, with two parties fighting over territory and trying to redraw a border. A lot of people died over 8 years and the border stayed the same. But weapons were sold, and internal power was consolidated.
That’s really what war is about, territory. You have something that I want, and I will fight you for it.
So, if this is a war, who are the warring parties and what is the fight over?
The war is between “the state” and “the citizen”. The latter is YOU and ME… continue
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Aletho News 
Given the history of British and American “dirty tricks” against Iran(and the lack of detail regarding this ‘incident’), who would you regard as ‘believable’ when trying to assess what really happened?
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Really? But the seizure of the Iranian one is…Isn’t it? Even if in Iranian water?
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Bolt-on Hypocrites, the lot of BrIt-and US-Zionist-based agents of the Ziomonster.
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Yes, to each of the three comments. What hypocrisy. What arrogance. What self-serving righteousness. What presumptions.
Recall how the American Congress jumped to applaud, jumped to applaud, and jumped to applaud Netanyahu speaking to them. Imagine Netanyahu jumping with applause as each and every new development plays out. And notice how Israel is quieting itself, its bombast, its threats, as British and American aggression increases against Iran.
This must be addressed. Without action to object, without voicing opposition, these Zionists in control of America and Britain and elsewhere, they will steer a newly forming “coalition of the willing” into staging a reason to begin military hostilities against Iran.
If so, escalation. If so, will Saudi Arabia join the “coalition”? If so, imagine the spreading war.
All for the greater Israel. It’s not for oil. The world is awash in oil. It’s for Israel to become the great power it envisions for itself.
For or with whom is it an ally? It is ever and ever more a self-serving nation, a nation there in the middle east and a nation that extends outside of Israel.
How America, Britain and other countries do the bidding of Israel is astonishing. This Israeli juggernaut has mesmerized its politicians, cowed the populace and milked money so continuously, as to be taken for granted and not to be questioned. It’s astonishing.
Israel is not an ally. It is the opposite.
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“Like!”
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