The British oil tanker Stena Impero is shown at an unknown location. (Stena Bulk via AP)

LONDON (AP/CNN) — Britain’s foreign secretary said Iranian authorities seized two vessels Friday in the Strait of Hormuz, actions signaling intensifying tensions in the strategic waterway that has become a flashpoint between Tehran and the West.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said one of the seized ships, the tanker Stena Impero, was British-flagged and the other, the MV Mesdar, sailed under Liberia’s flag. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency tweeted shortly after Hunt’s statement that the second tanker had left Iran’s territorial waters.

“These seizures are unacceptable,” Hunt said as he prepared to enter an emergency government meeting Friday night. “It is essential that freedom of navigation is maintained and that all ships can move safely and freely in the region.”

The seizing of the British tanker marked perhaps the most significant escalation since tensions between Iran and the West began rising in May. At that time, the U.S. announced it was dispatching an aircraft carrier and additional troops to the Persian Gulf, citing unspecified threats posed by Iran.

The ongoing showdown has caused jitters around the globe, amid fears that any misunderstanding or misstep by either side could lead to war.

Details of what took place Friday remained sketchy. Iran said earlier Friday that it had seized a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, which is at the mouth of the Persian Gulf and serves as the passageway for one-fifth of all global crude exports.

The tanker Stena Impero was taken to an Iranian port because it was not complying with “international maritime laws and regulations,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard declared.

Britain’s Royal Marines assisted in the seizure of an Iranian oil supertanker on July 4 by Gibraltar, a British overseas territory off the southern coast of Spain.

Britain said it would release the vessel if Iran could prove it was not breaching European sanctions on oil shipments to Syria. The seized vessel was loaded with over 2 million barrels of Iranian crude oil.

A statement from Stena Bulk, which owns the tanker, said it was unable to contact the ship after it was approached by unidentified vessels and a helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz.

The company said the tanker, with 23 crew members aboard, was in international waters when it was approached but subsequently appeared to be heading toward Iran.

U.K. Chamber of Shipping chief executive Bob Sanguinetti said the seizure represented an escalation in tensions in the Persian Gulf and made it clear more protection for merchant vessels was urgently needed.

He claimed the action is “in violation of international regulations which protect ships and their crews as they go about their legitimate business in international waters.”

The British government should do “whatever is necessary” to ensure the safe and swift return of the ship’s crew, Sanguinetti said.

Crude oil prices climbed following Iran’s announcement as traders worried the escalating tensions could affect crude supplies. The price of oil was lower earlier in the day. U.S. stocks also fell as traders sold to avoid holding stocks into the weekend. The S&P 500 dropped 0.6% Friday after being up 0.4% in the morning.

The incident came just two days after Washington claimed that a U.S. warship downed an Iranian drone in the Strait. Iran denied that it lost an aircraft in the area.

President Donald Trump said U.S. officials would talk with Britain about the unfolding crisis.

“This only goes to show what I’m saying about Iran: Trouble, nothing but trouble,” he said.

Trump said “Iran is showing their colors” and “in big trouble right now” because its economy has been crippled by U.S. economic sanctions.

The U.S. has asked Mideast allies like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in past weeks to contribute financially and militarily to a Trump administration proposal called the Sentinel Program — a coalition of nations working with the U.S. to preserve maritime security in the Persian Gulf and keep eyes on Iran.

On June 20, Iran shot down an American drone in the same waterway, and Trump came close to retaliating but called off an airstrike at the last moment.

Tensions in the region have been escalating since the Trump administration withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and imposed sweeping sanctions on Iran, including its oil exports, that have hit its economy hard.

Iran’s government has desperately tried to get out of the chokehold, appealing to the other partners in the deal, particularly Europe, to pressure the U.S. to lift the bruising sanctions. Europe wants to maintain the nuclear deal, but has not been able to address Iranian demands, particularly concerning the sale of oil, without violating U.S. sanctions.

On Friday, Iran and the United States emphatically disagreed over Washington’s claim that a U.S. warship downed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz. American officials said they used electronic jamming to bring down the unmanned aircraft, while Iran said it simply didn’t happen.

Neither side provided evidence to prove its claim.

At the White House, Trump said flatly of the Iranian drone: “We shot it down.” But Pentagon and other officials have said repeatedly that the USS Boxer, a Navy ship in the Strait of Hormuz, actually jammed the drone’s signal, causing it to crash, and did not fire a missile. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive technology.

Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, said, “There is no question this was an Iranian drone, and the USS Boxer took it out as the president announced yesterday because it posed a threat to the ship and its crew. It’s entirely the right thing to do.”

In Tehran, the Iranian military said all its drones had returned safely to their bases and denied there was any confrontation with the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship.

“We have not lost any drone in the Strait of Hormuz nor anywhere else,” tweeted Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on its website Friday said the drone recorded three hours of video of the USS Boxer and five other vessels Thursday beginning when the ships first entered the Strait of Hormuz. There was no immediate explanation as to how the video was evidence that no Iranian drone was destroyed.

The Revolutionary Guard said its forces continue to monitor all movements by foreigners — especially “the terrorist forces” of the U.S. and the British in the Strait and the Gulf.

After Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal with world powers last year and imposed economic sanctions against Tehran, the Iranians have pushed back on the military front in recent weeks, with Washington accusing Tehran of threatening American forces and interests in the region.

Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, suggested in New York as he arrived for a meeting at the United Nations that Iran could immediately ratify an agreement to allow broader checks of its nuclear facilities by U.N. inspectors if the U.S. dropped its sanctions.

China urged Washington to consider the offer, calling it “a positive signal that Iran is willing to seek a compromise solution.”

The Pentagon said Thursday’s incident happened in international waters while the Boxer was entering the Gulf. The Boxer is among several U.S. Navy ships in the area, including the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier that has been operating in the North Arabian Sea for weeks in response to rising tensions.

The Iranians and Americans have had close encounters in the Strait of Hormuz in the past, and it is not unprecedented for Iran to fly a drone near a U.S. warship.

Zarif blamed Washington for the escalation and accused the Trump administration of “trying to starve our people” and “deplete our treasury” through sanctions.

Jill Lawless in London and David Rising in Berlin contributed. </s> LONDON/DUBAI, July 19 (Reuters) - Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Friday they had captured a British-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf after Britain seized an Iranian vessel earlier this month, further raising tensions along a vital international oil shipping route.

Britain said it was urgently seeking information about the Stena Impero after the tanker, which had been heading to a port in Saudi Arabia, suddenly changed course after passing throughthe Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf.

The Revolutionary Guards said they seized the tanker at the request of Iranian maritime authorities for "not following international maritime regulations," state television reported.

Iran said it would retaliate and days later three Iranian vessels tried to block a British-owned tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz. But on that occasion, the Iranian vessels backed off when confronted by a British Royal Navy warship.

"We are urgently seeking further information and assessing the situation following reports of an incident in the Gulf," a spokesman for Britain'sMinistry of Defence said on Friday.

A person familiar with the matter said a meeting of the British government's emergency committee was being held.

Refinitiv data showed the Stena Impero was a British-flagged vessel owned by Stena Bulk. It showed the vessel's destination as the Saudi port of Jubail on the Gulf.

The map tracking the ship's course showed it veering off course with a sharp turn north at about 1517 GMT on Friday and heading towards the Iranian coast. </s> Iran seizes third foreign ship in less than a month

Iranian Revolutionary Guards seized a foreign oil tanker in the Gulf that was smuggling fuel and detained seven crewmen, Iran’s state media reported on Sunday, in a show of power amid heightened tension with the West.

The vessel was intercepted near Iran’s Farsi Island in the Gulf, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said.

The elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has a navy base on Farsi island which is located north of the Strait of Hormuz.

Fars and Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen TV station reported that the tanker was seized on Wednesday.

“The IRGC’s naval forces have seized a foreign oil tanker in the Persian Gulf that was smuggling fuel for some Arab countries,” state television quoted the Guards commander Ramezan Zirahi as saying.

It was carrying 700,000 litres of fuel, he said, without elaborating on the nationalities of the detained crewmen and on which country or company owned the ship.

“The seizure of the oil tanker was in coordination with Iran’s judiciary authorities and based on their order,” Fars quoted him as he as saying. “It was taken to the Bushehr port, where its fuel was handed over to the authorities.”

Iran, which has some of the worlds cheapest fuel prices due to heavy state subsidies and the fall of its currency, has been fighting rampant fuel smuggling by land to neighbouring countries and by sea to Gulf Arab states.

A spokesman for the US Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet said they had no information to confirm the media reports.

Another oil tanker, the Panama-flagged MT Riah, was captured by the elite force last month for “smuggling fuel to other countries”.

Tensions have risen between Iran and the West since last year when the United States pulled out of an international agreement which curbed the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program in return for an easing of economic sanctions on Iran.

Fuelling fears of a Middle East war with global repercussions, the Guards seized British tanker Stena Impero near the Strait of Hormuz in July for alleged marine violations, two weeks after British forces captured an Iranian oil tanker near Gibraltar accused of violating sanctions on Syria.

Describing the seizure of the Stena Impero in the Strait as illegal, Britain has rejected the idea that it could release the Iranian tanker in exchange for the British-flagged vessel.

Angered by intensified US sanctions designed to strangle its vital oil trade and the failure of Britain and European parties to the agreement to salvage the pact, Tehran has decreased its commitments to the nuclear deal.

Iran also has threatened to block all exports through the Strait, if countries heed US calls to stop buying Iranian oil. A fifth of global oil consumption passes through the Strait from Middle East crude producers to major markets.

After several attacks in May and June on oil tankers — blamed by Washington on Tehran, which denied responsibility — Trump has been trying to forge a military coalition to secure Gulf waters, though European allies have been loath to join for fear of provoking open conflict.

European parties to the deal — Britain, France and Germany — have instead appealed for diplomatic moves to defuse the crisis and have been trying to salvage the pact by exploring ways to shield Iran’s economy from US sanctions.

Tehran has called on them to accelerate their efforts or it will further decrease its commitments to the agreement.

Britain said on July 25 it had started sending a warship to accompany all British-flagged vessels through the Strait.

Iran has repeatedly said it will not allow any disturbance in shipping in the key oil transport waterway, claiming responsibility for the security of the Strait. In an apparent bid to calm tensions in the Gulf, Iran has called for improving relations with its regional rivals Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Last month, Iran and the UAE revived maritime security talks in Tehran that had been off since 2013.

Iranian media reported on Sunday that Iranian and Qatari coast guards will meet to “improve maritime and border cooperation”. </s> Iran says it has captured British oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz

Iran's Revolutionary Guard claims to have captured British oil tanker Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state television reports.

The IRGC seized the tanker at the request of the maritime authorities in the Iranian province of Hormozgan for "not following international maritime regulations," state television cited an IRGC statement as saying.

The tanker was taken to a coastal area and turned over to the authorities to take the necessary legal steps, state television said.

The operator of the Stena Impero said it was unable to contact the ship after it was approached by unidentified vessels and a helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz. The ship has 23 crew aboard.

"We are urgently seeking further information and assessing the situation following reports of an incident in the Gulf," a spokesman for Britain's Ministry of Defence said.

Further protection must be provided for merchant vessels, the head of the UK Chamber of Shipping said.

"We condemn unreservedly the capture of Stena Impero as she transited the Strait of Hormuz earlier today," the Chamber's chief executive, Bob Sanguinetti, said in a statement.

"This incident represents an escalation. Whilst we call for measured response, it is also clear that further protection for merchant vessels must be forthcoming to ensure enhanced security to guarantee free flow of trade in the region."

The incident came as Iran and the United States emphatically disagreed on Friday over Washington's claim that a US warship downed an Iranian drone near the Persian Gulf.

American officials said they used electronic jamming to bring down the unmanned aircraft, while Iran said it simply didn't happen.

The United States is aware of reports that Iran seized the tanker and it will work with its allies and partners to defend against Iran, a White House National Security Council spokesman said.

"We are aware of reports that Iranian forces seized a British oil tanker," spokesman Garrett Marquis said.

"The US will continue to work with our allies and partners to defend our security and interests against Iran's malign behavior," he added. 



More to come. </s> (Hatha al-Youm | Iraq News )- The British-operated oil tanker Mesdar, which had turned in the direction of Iran, changed course again on Friday to head back into the Gulf, Refinitiv tracking data showed.Britain said the Mesdar and another tanker, the Stena Impero, had been seized by Iran, making the announcement after both suddenly took up a course towards the Iranian coast.But an Iranian news agency said the Mesdar had not been seized but had been issued a warning, while the Iranian military said it had captured the Stena Impero. </s> Iran seizes tanker carrying 'smuggled' fuel in the Gulf, state media says

Iran seizes tanker carrying 'smuggled' fuel in the Gulf, state media says

Iran has seized another foreign tanker in the Gulf, a state media agency has said.

The vessel, carrying 700,000 litres of "smuggled fuel" bound for Arab states, was intercepted near Farsi Island in the Gulf, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency said.

Lebanon's al-Mayadeen TV station reported that it was taken on Wednesday.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Ramezan Zirahi, quoted by state television, said: "The IRGC's naval forces have seized a foreign oil tanker in the Persian Gulf that was smuggling fuel for some Arab countries."

Seven sailors of different nationalities were detained, he said.

"The seizure of the oil tanker was in coordination with Iran's judiciary authorities and based on their order," Fars quoted him as saying.

The reported seizure comes at a time of high tensions in the region, as Tehran struggles to cope with harsh economic sanctions imposed by the US.

The sanctions, which have severely restricted Iran's oil exports, were reimposed after Washington's unilateral withdrawal from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.

That, in turn, prompted Tehran to announce it was relaxing its efforts to comply with the deal.

UK vessels have become involved in the tit-for-tat conflict, after British Royal Marines captured the Iranian oil tanker, Grace 1, near Gibraltar on 4 July.

They said they suspected the ship was taking oil to Syria in breach of EU sanctions, but Iran called it an act of "piracy".

The Iranian coastguard detained the Panama-flagged tanker MT Riah on 13 July, accusing it, as with the latest seizure, of smuggling fuel.

Less than a week later, Revolutionary Guard Corps seized the British-flagged Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz.

They accused the Swedish-owned oil tanker of allegedly violating international laws.

On Thursday, the UK's new foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, rejected the chance to swap the tankers.

The US has blamed Iran for two separate attacks using explosives which damaged oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman in May and June - an allegation Tehran has denied. </s> A second 'British' tanker near Iran has veered off course - after a first was seized in Iranian waters.

Owners of the first British tanker say they are unable to contact crew onboard.

It has now been reported that the second ship, the Mesdar Crude Oil Tanker, is also heading towards Iran.

The ship is operated by Norbulk Shipping UK Ltd.

It is unknown how many people were aboard the Mesdar ship.

The Ministry of Defence says it is urgently seeking information about the unfolding incident.

A meeting of the Government's emergency committee, Cobra, is believed to be underway.

Iranian state TV has said authorities seized the Stena Impero, Reuters reports.

According to reports in Iran, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard surrounded the tanker because it did "not following international maritime regulations".

The vessel was shown on tracking systems taking a sudden turn in the Gulf, having been headed to Saudi Arabia.

The company that owns the vessel said it was approached by "unidentified small crafts" and a helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement Northern Marine Management said: "We are presently unable to contact the vessel which is now heading north towards Iran.

"There are 23 seafarers aboard. There have been no reported injuries and their safety is of primary concern to both owners and managers."

The company said the tanker was in international waters when it was approached.

Its statement continues: "Northern Marine Management has not been able to establish contact directly with the vessel since it was notified of the incident at approximately 1600 Today, 19th July 2019.

"We are in close contact with UK government authorities."

The Stena Impero had left Fujairah in Dubai before being intercepted in the Strait of Hormuz.

A National Security Council statement said: “We are aware of reports that Iran seized a UK oil tanker. This is the second time in just over a week the UK has been targeted by [Iran].

"The US will continue to work with our allies to defend our security and interests against Iran’s malign behavior."

An MOD spokesman said: “We are urgently seeking further information and assessing the situation following reports of an incident in the Gulf.”

Relations between Iran and the West have been increasingly strained after Britain seized an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar on suspicion of smuggling oil to Syria in breach of European Union sanctions.

Iran said it would retaliate and days later three Iranian vessels tried to block a British-owned tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

But on that occasion, the Iranian vessels backed off when confronted by a British Royal Navy warship.

Refinitiv data showed the Stena Impero is a British-flagged vessel owned by Stena Bulk and it had been en route to Jubail in Saudi Arabia.

Another map tracking the location of the Stena Impero showed it making a sharp turn in the Strait of Hormuz, at the southern entrance to the Gulf, and heading toward Iranian waters. </s> Topline: Iran captured two oil tankers off its coast: one Liberian, the other British. The British tanker was seized Friday in the Strait of Hormuz, and it's unclear when the Liberian tanker was taken, according to CNN.
• Twenty-three crew were aboard the Stena Impero, according to the ship’s owner. Contact was lost with the Saudi Arabia-bound ship before it headed towards Iranian waters.
• In addition to the tanker captures, the U.S. claimed Thursday it downed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran rejected this version of events, and suggested the U.S. destroyed its own aircraft. Iran announced Thursday it seized an Emirati-owned tanker that went missing on Sunday.
• The Revolutionary Guard website said the British tanker was seized for “non-compliance with international maritime laws and regulations” and brought the vessel to an Iranian port.
• When asked by a reporter on the White House lawn Friday about the tanker captures, President Trump said, "We'll see what happens." He also said he would discuss the situation with the U.K. government.
• The Strait of Hormuz off the Iranian coast is a chokepoint for international oil shipping. About 40% of the global supply is transported through it.
• Just two weeks ago, British forces captured an Iranian oil tanker off the coast of Gibralter, and reported they chased away Iranian vessels attempting to capture one of their tankers in retaliation. The U.K. suspected the Iranian tanker was bound for Syria, according to the BBC.

Key background: Since the U.S. withdrew from Obama’s Iran deal, tensions have steadily escalated between Iran and the West. In May and June, two different oil tanker attacks occurred off Iran’s coast. Iran denied involvement, but the U.S. blamed the nation for both incidents. When Iran downed a U.S. Navy drone in June, the incident led to Iran severing diplomatic ties with America. Meanwhile, Iran announced this month that it exceeded the limit of enriched uranium in the Obama-era nuclear deal but insisted it would use the material for peaceful purposes only, according to the New York Times. </s> A view of the Grace 1 super tanker with the name removed is seen in the British territory of Gibraltar, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019. The shipping agent for an Iranian supertanker caught in a diplomatic standoff says the vessel is ready to depart Gibraltar in “24 to 48 hours,” despite a last-minute effort by the United States to seize it again. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

MADRID (AP) — Authorities in Gibraltar on Sunday rejected the United States’ latest request not to release a seized Iranian supertanker, clearing the way for the vessel to set sail after being detained last month for allegedly attempting to breach European Union sanctions on Syria.

The ship was expected to leave Sunday night, according to a statement on Twitter by Hamid Baeidinejad, Iran’s ambassador to Britain.

The tanker’s release comes amid a growing confrontation between Iran and the West after President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers over a year ago.

Shortly after the tanker’s detention in early July near Gibraltar — a British overseas territory — Iran seized the British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero, which remains held by the Islamic Republic. Analysts had said the Iranian ship’s release by Gibraltar could see the Stena Impero go free.

Gibraltar’s government said Sunday it was allowing the Iranian tanker’s release because “The EU sanctions regime against Iran – which is applicable in Gibraltar – is much narrower than that applicable in the US.”

In a last-ditch effort to stop the release, the U.S. unsealed a warrant Friday to seize the vessel and its cargo of 2.1 million barrels of light crude oil, citing violations of U.S. sanctions as well as money laundering and terrorism statutes.

U.S. officials told reporters that the oil aboard the ship was worth some $130 million and that it was destined for a designated terror organization to conduct more terrorism.

The unsealed court documents argued that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are the ship’s true owners through a network of front companies.

Authorities in Gibraltar said Sunday that, unlike in the U.S., the Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is not designated a terrorist organization under EU, U.K. or Gibraltar law.

The Iranian ship was detained while sailing under a Panamanian flag with the name Grace 1. As of Sunday, it had been renamed the Adrian Darya 1 and had hoisted an Iranian flag. Workers were seen painting the new name on the side of the ship Saturday.

Iran has not disclosed the Adrian Darya 1’s intended destination and has denied it was ever sailing for Syria.

The chief minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, said he had been assured in writing by the Iranian government that the tanker wouldn’t unload its cargo in Syria.

Baeidinejad, Iran’s ambassador to Britain, said in a series of tweets that “round-the-clock efforts to carry out port formalities and deploy the full crew onto the ship” had taken place since Gibraltar lifted the vessel’s detention Thursday.

The Astralship shipping agency in Gibraltar, which has been hired to handle paperwork and arrange logistics for the Adrian Darya 1, had told The Associated Press that a new crew of Indian and Ukrainian nationals were replacing the sailors on board.

Astralship managing director Richard De la Rosa said his company had not been informed about the vessel’s next destination.

Messages seeking comment from the Iranian Embassy in London were not immediately returned.

AP reporters Raphael Satter in London and Mehdi Fattahi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
Iranian Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps captures British tanker Stena Impero and temporarily seizes British-operated and Liberian-flagged tanker Mesdar in the Persian Gulf. British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt says there will be "serious consequences" if Iran does not release the tanker.