LONDON, July 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) –Iran may be choosing a “dangerous path” of “illegal and destabilising” behaviour after its authorities seized a British-flagged tanker in the Gulf, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said.
The Stena Impero’s owners have been unable to contact the ship, which was surrounded in the Strait of Hormuz.
The UK government said it was “deeply concerned” about Iran’s “unacceptable” actions.
Iran said the vessel was “violating international maritime rules”.
A second British-owned Liberian-flagged tanker, the MV Mesdar, was also boarded by armed guards but was released on Friday.
The Stena Impero was seized by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on Friday in a key waterway in the Gulf.
The tanker was surrounded by four vessels and a helicopter before heading into Iranian waters, Hunt said.
He said “freedom of navigation must be maintained” and warned of “serious consequences” if the situation is not resolved quickly.
“We are not looking at military options,” he added. “We are looking at a diplomatic way to resolve this situation.”
On Saturday, Hunt tweeted: “Friday’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.”
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said the tanker was seized after it collided with a fishing boat and failed to respond to calls from the smaller craft.
The vessel’s owners said it was fully complying with regulations and was in international waters when it was approached.
It said there no reported injuries among the 23 crew members, who are Indian, Russian, Latvian and Filipino.
A UK government spokeswoman: “We have advised UK shipping to stay out of the area for an interim period.”
Iran’s foreign minister Javad Zarif tweeted that the UK “must cease being an accessory to #EconomicTerrorism of the US”.
He said it was Iran that guarantees the security of the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
“Unlike the piracy in the Strait of Gibraltar, our action in the Persian Gulf is to uphold international maritime rules,” he said. — NNN-AGENCIES
