Britain has
admitted its nearest warship was one hour away from the merchant vessel seized
by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday and could do nothing to
help.
Penny
Mordaunt, the defence secretary, said the incident happened in Omani waters and
was a "hostile act".
But
she said the British Type 23 frigate HMS Montrose was 60 minutes away from
being able to help the Stena Impero when it was boarded by Iranian
Revolutionary Guards.
The
Foreign Office summoned Iran's charge d'affaires, Mohsen
Omidzamani, following the seizure of the British-flagged oil tanker.
It
came as Jeremy Hunt spoke to his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad
Zarif to express Britain's concern over the latest hike in tensions in
the region.
Mr
Hunt wrote on Twitter: "Just spoke to Iranian FM Zarif and expressed
extreme disappointment that having assured me last Saturday Iran wanted to
de-escalate situation they have behaved in the opposite way.
"This
has to be about actions not words if we are to find a way through. British
shipping must and will be protected."
Mr Zarif
hit back with his own tween, stating: "Unlike the piracy in the Strait of
Gibraltar, our action in the Persian Gulf is to uphold int'l maritime rules. As
I said in NY, it is IRAN that guarantees the security of the Arabian Gulf &
the Strait of Hormuz. UK must cease being an accessory to #EconomicTerrorism of the US."
Following
a meeting of the Government's emergency committee Cobra, a spokesman said the
seizure was "a clear challenge to international freedom of
navigation", adding: "As the Foreign Secretary has said, our response
will be considered and robust and there will be serious consequences if the
situation is not resolved."
Iran
has directly linked the seizure of the tanker with Britain's role in detaining
a tanker carrying Iranian oil earlier this month.
A
spokesman for Iran's Guardian Council was quoted as saying "the rule
of reciprocal action is well-known in international law" and that Tehran
made the right decision in the face of an "illegitimate economic war and
seizure of oil tankers".
The
explanation, contrasts with Iran's earlier claims that the Stena Impero
collided with a fishing vessel in the Arabian Gulf, as tensions mount in the
strategic waterway, a chokepoint for around a third of the world's
sea-borne oil.
Allahmorad
Afifipour, the head of Ports and Maritime Organisation in southern Hormozgan
province claimed the Swedish-owned Stena Impero was in an accident with an
Iranian fishing boat whose distress call it ignored.
The
30,000-tonne ship had been en route to Saudi Arabia, but abruptly changed
course and began sailing towards the Iranian island of Qeshm, data relayed by
maritime tracking services showed. It then “went dark”, meaning its transponder
was turned off, at 4.29pm UK time and nothing has been heard from her or her 23
crew since.
The
tanker's operator, Stena Bulk, said on Friday the ship had been "in full
compliance with all navigation and international regulations", but was no
longer under the crew's control and could not be contacted.
Guards
say it was taken to Bander Abbas port, where its Russian, Ukrainian, Indian,
Latvian and Filipino crew are being questioned.
Mr
Hunt said this morning that he was worried that Iran had taken a
"dangerous path".
"Yesterday'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," Mr Hunt said on Twitter.
"Our
reaction will be considered but robust. We have been trying to find a way to
resolve Grace1 issue but WILL ensure the safety of our shipping."
A Whitehall
source told the Telegraph: “It looks as though the Iranian Revolutionary Guard
have boarded and taken a UK-flagged ship. It appears to be linked to events
around the Grace 1 tanker.”
British
authorities seized the Iranian Grace 1 supertanker off the coast of Gibraltar
on July 4, on suspicion it was carrying crude to Syria in violation of European
Union sanctions.
The
fate of the tanker has been at the centre of escalating tensions between the UK
and Iran and was seen as a pawn in the standoff between the Islamic Republic
and the West.