Iran tensions: UK oil tanker was seized in Oman waters in ‘hostile act’, says defence secretary

Penny Mordaunt, the defence secretary, has said the UK-registered oil tanker seized by Iran was intercepted in Omani waters, describing the incident as a “hostile act”.

The Stena Impero, a British-flagged ship carrying crude oil, was boarded and captured by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Friday.

Iran claimed it took control of the vessel because it collided with an Iranian fishing boat, but Ms Mordaunt told Sky News this was untrue.

Instead, the tanker was intercepted inside Oman’s territorial waters, making Iran’s actions a “hostile act”, she said.

In a sign of the British government’s escalation of the diplomatic crisis, a senior Iranian diplomat has been summoned to the Foreign Office.

Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, said that having spoken to his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Tehran saw the situation as a “tit for tat” following the detention of Grace 1 in Gibraltar.

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said.

“Grace 1 was detained legally in Gibraltarian waters because it was carrying oil, against EU sanctions, to Syria, and that’s why the Gibraltarian authorities acted totally with respect to due process and totally within the law.

“Stena Impero was seized in Omani waters in clear contravention of international law; it was then forced to sail into Iran.

“This is totally and utterly unacceptable. It raises very serious questions about the security of British shipping, and indeed international shipping, in the Strait of Hormuz.”

Mr Hunt said MPs would be updated about what “further measures” the government will take on Monday, adding that the threat level had been raised to three.

The foreign secretary spoke after cabinet ministers held a session of the emergency Cobra committee this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, blamed Donald Trump for escalating tensions in the Gulf.

“The UK tanker under Iranian control, and its crew, must be released. Escalation risks a deeper conflict, all sides must show restraint,” he tweeted.

“Trump tearing up the Iran nuclear deal has fuelled confrontation. Its negotiated reinstatement is essential to defuse threat of war in the Gulf.

Already, British shipping has been warned to steer well clear of the Strait of Hormuz, where the Stena Impero was seized.

The region is a strategically vital shipping lane through which a fifth of the world’s oil moves, but has in recent weeks seen oil tankers attacked, drones shot down, and a build-up of warships from several nations as tensions between Iran and the west have risen.

The capture of the UK-registered ship came just weeks after British royal marines took control of Iran’s Grace 1 tanker in Gibraltar on 4 July on suspicion of transporting fuel to Syria, breaching EU sanctions.

A second UK vessel, the Liberian-flagged MV Mesdar, was also briefly boarded by armed Iranians and observed to change course towards Iran’s coast on Friday. About five hours later the crew regained control.

A British warship already in the Strait of Hormuz, HMS Montrose, has also had to fend off Iranian Revolutionary Guard gunboats as they tried to impede a BP oil tanker.

A second vessel, the destroyer HMS Duncan, is now sailing to the region to beef up Britain’s naval presence.

A spokesperson for Iran’s highly influential Guardian Council has been quoted describing Britain’s detention of Grace 1 as part of an “illegitimate economic war” and therefore Iran’s response in seizing the Stena Impero as part of “the rule of reciprocal action ... well-known in international law”.

This contrasts with the initial comments from Iranian authorities on Friday that the tanker had been “violating international maritime rules”.

Mr Trump, who has been caught in his own war of words with Iran over the alleged downing of an Iranian drone earlier this week, has said the United States will “work with the UK” to resolve the situation.