UK government spokesman says three Iranian boats were warned off by HMS Montrose, but Tehran denies involvement

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Three Iranian boats tried to intercept a British oil tanker in the Gulf before being driven off by a Royal Navy warship, the UK said, in a major escalation of tensions in the vital shipping channel off Iran.

The incident took place in the strait of Hormuz through which the commercial vessel British Heritage was attempting to pass on Wednesday.

It is the latest in a series of recent incidents in the area which have sent tensions between Iran and the US soaring. It also comes after the UK seizure last week of an Iranian oil tanker, the Grace 1, off the coast of Gibraltar, for which Tehran has threatened retaliation.

On Thursday, Gibraltar police said the captain and chief officer of the Grace 1 – both Indian nationals - had been arrested in connection to alleged breaching of EU sanctions on Syria, but neither had been charged. Documents and electronic equipment was seized from the vessel, a spokesperson said.

Speaking about the latest confrontation, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement: “Contrary to international law, three Iranian vessels attempted to impede the passage of a commercial vessel, British Heritage, through the strait of Hormuz.”

The British warship, 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,” the statement said.

“We are concerned by this action and continue to urge the Iranian authorities to de-escalate the situation in the region.”

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt described the confrontation as “a very concerning development and said the UK is “continuing to monitor the situation very, very carefully.”

Iran has rejected the claims. Foreign minister Javad Zarif called the British allegations “worthless” in remarks to the semi-official Fars news agency.

“Apparently the British tanker has passed. What [the British] have said themselves and the claims that have been made are for creating tension and these claims have no value,” Zarif said.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) also issued a statement denying involvement.

US defence officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, had earlier told Reuters that the incident happened at the northern entrance of the strait of Hormuz.

“The Royal Navy HMS Montrose, which was also there, pointed it[s] guns at the boats and warned them over radio, at which point they dispersed,” one of the officials said.

“It was harassment and an attempt to interfere with the passage,” another official said.

Ex-military chief urges Iran to seize UK ship in Gibraltar tit-for-tat Read more

A spokesperson for US central command, Captain Bill Urban, said: “We are aware of the reports of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp Navy’s FAC/FIAC harassment and attempts to interfere with the passage of the UK-flagged merchant vessel British Heritage today near the strait of Hormuz.

“Threats to international freedom of navigation require an international solution.”

CNN reported that a US surveillance aircraft recorded video of the incident. It said the HMS Montrose, which was escorting the oil tanker, trained its guns on the IRGC boats and issued a verbal warning. No shots were fired.

British Heritage was believed to be near the island of Abu Musa when it was approached by the Iranian boats. The island is in disputed territorial waters between Iran and the UAE, but the UK said the HMS Montrose remained in international waters throughout the episode.

On Wednesday Iranian president Hassan Rouhani warned the UK it would face unspecified consequences as a result of the UK’s seizure of the Grace 1 oil tanker bound for Syria off the coast of Gibraltar last week. The ship, believed to be in breach of EU sanctions on Syria, remains in British possession.

Rouhani was quoted by the Iranian official IRNA news agency calling the seizure of the Iranian oil ship “mean and wrong”. During a cabinet meeting he warned London: “You are an initiator of insecurity and you will understand its repercussions.”

Q&A Why is the Gulf of Oman so important for shipping oil? Show Hide The strait of Hormuz, which provides passage from the Gulf of Oman to the open sea, is the most important gateway for oil exports in the world. With Iran on its northern shore, and the UAE and Oman on its southern shore, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) calls it the world’s worst 'chokepoint' In 2016, 18.5m barrels of crude oil were transported each day through the strait of Hormuz, compared with 16m through the strait of Malacca, which runs between the Indonesian island of Sumatra, Malaysia and Thailand, connecting the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea. 5m barrels of crude oil are transported annually through the next largest chokepoint, the Suez canal. Phillip Inman

Last week a former leader of the Revolutionary Guard said the Islamic Republic should consider seizing a British oil tanker in response.

Mohsen Rezaei, who led the Guard during Iran’s 1980s “tanker war” in the Gulf, made the comments the day after nearly 30 Royal Marines were deployed to impound Grace 1.

“If England does not release the Iranian oil tanker, the duty ... [of Iran] is to respond and seize one English oil tanker,” Rezaei said on Friday.

Tehran has been accused of sabotaging oil tankers in the strait of Hormuz in an attempt at economic retaliation against the US after Donald Trump pulled out of a 2015 nuclear agreement and imposed crippling sanctions on Iran.

Washington and Tehran came as close as ever to direct military conflict last month, when Iran shot down a US drone and Trump ordered retaliatory air strikes, only to call them off minutes before impact.

The UK and other European countries have been trying to save the deal, in which Tehran agreed to limits on its nuclear programme in exchange for relief from international sanctions.

Tehran’s recent decision to ramp up uranium enrichment together with European powers’ inability to meet Iranian demands for economic assistance, however, makes it unlikely to survive.

“It seems that the Brits and the French and the Germans are coming around to the idea that the Iranians are up to no good!”, president Trump tweeted on Thursday.

Russia and China, both signatories to the nuclear agreement along with the UK, France and Germany, called for restraint. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said “freedom of navigation should be ensured in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.”

The US is hoping to enlist its allies in a coalition to monitor the Iranian presence in the crucial waterway and off the coast of Yemen, Pentagon officials said this week.

Marine General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he discussed the matter on Tuesday with acting secretary of defence Mark Esper and secretary of state Mike Pompeo.

“We’re getting ready now to move out,” he told reporters at Fort Myer, Virginia.

“We have a pretty clear concept of what we want to do.”

In recent months, the US has sent thousands of additional troops, an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers and advanced fighter jets to the region.