British warship aims guns at Iranian boats that ‘harassed’ oil tanker in Gulf, US officials say
- The tanker was entering the Strait of Hormuz when it was approached by the Iranian vessels, a claim denied by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards
- Incident comes after Britain impounded an Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar on suspicion of violating sanctions on Syria
Three Iranian ships tried to “impede the passage” of a British oil tanker as it travelled through the Strait of Hormuz, the Defence Ministry in London said on Thursday.
The British Royal Navy’s HMS Montrose fended off the interception by moving in between the Iranian ships and the commercial vessel known as the British Heritage, the Defence Ministry said.
“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,” a spokesman said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif rejected the British claim, telling Iranian news agency Fars: “The aim of such worthless insinuations is simply to provoke tension.”
The British Heritage is a Suezmax oil super-tanker owned by BP, making it one of “the largest tankers able to transit the Suez Canal in a laden condition” and capable of long voyages carrying more than 1 million barrels of oil, according to the oil giant.
“Our top priority is the safety and security of our crews and vessels,” a BP spokeswoman said when asked about the attempted interception of the tanker. “While we are not commenting on these events, we thank the Royal Navy for their support.”
Shipping monitoring service Lloyd’s List reported on Tuesday the British Heritage had “diverted and failed to load its 140,000 tonne cargo of crude at Basrah, Iraq, as planned on July 4 – the day Grace 1 was intercepted off Gibraltar”.
Gulf mission patrol: US seeks allies for military coalition as Iran tensions mount
US media earlier quoted sources as saying said the British tanker was threatened by armed Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats and the incident was filmed by a US aircraft overhead.
Bill Urban, a US Central Command spokesperson, said the US was aware of the reports, adding: “Threats to international freedom of navigation require an international solution.”
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards denied any involvement, saying in a statement that there was “no incident involving foreign vessels in the Strait of Hormuz” in the last 24 hours.
General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday the US was attempting to build a military coalition to protect shipping in the region.
Washington has accused Tehran of being behind a series of recent attacks against commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz.
Last month, President Donald Trump claimed he came close to ordering an air strike in retaliation against Iran for shooting down a US spy drone near the Strait.
