Tensions between London and Tehran have reached a new high after warship HMS Montrose was forced to warn off three Iranian ships who tried to stop the British Heritage, operated by BP, from entering the Strait of Hormuz. The Government has raised its ship security level to 3 to indicate the “critical” situation in the area for ships bearing the Union Jack. A British source said: “Level 3 for shipping security would be comparable to ‘critical’ and that is where there is a much-heightened risk.
“We went to level 3 for Iranian waters at the start of this week.”
However,
the source added the UK wants to de-escalate tensions and will not escort every
single British-flagged merchant vessel going through the Strait.
The source continued: “We will
be resolute in defending UK maritime interests in the Gulf, but we have
absolutely no interest in escalating the situation with Iran.”
And today Theresa May's spokeswoman said
talks with ongoing with American officials to build up a military presence in
the region.
The
UK Government accused three Iranian ships of approaching the British Heritage
tanker in the strait, which represents the main outlet for Middle Eastern oil -
which prompted the response of the Navy.
A
Government spokesman explained: “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.”
Up
to three British vessels go through the Strait of Hormuz every day, and between
15 to 30 are in the Gulf area on a daily basis.
Tehran
rubbished the British accusations as “worthless”, with the country’s Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif saying Iran didn’t seek to block the ship.
This happened exactly one week after Royal
Marines seized the Iranian tanker Grace 1 off the coast of Gibraltar, accused
of violating EU sanctions on Syria.
Police
in Gibraltar then arrested the captain and chief officer of the detained
vessels and seized electronic devices from the ship.
The EU has
sided with Iran over the row between Tehran and Washington and has been trying
to keep the JCPOA, also known as Iran nuclear deal, alive after Donald
Trump pulled out of it in May 2018.
However,
one of Brussels’ red lines is not selling oil to Iran’s ally, Syria.
Despite not seeking to escalate tensions
with Iran, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt vowed to boost the “hard power” of
Britain’s military as a response to the “deeply troubling” events in the Middle
East.