Iraq News Now

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.