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Britain's Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt gives a statement on July 22, 2019, in the House of Commons in London on the situation in the Persian Gulf. Photo: UK Parliament/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The British government told parliament it will take four steps aimed at curbing Iranian hostilities in shipping lanes near the Strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf following the seizure of a British-flagged ship, considered state "piracy" by Britain's foreign office.
"It was ... an act of state piracy which the House will have no hesitation in condemning," UK Foreign Secretary Hunt said in a statement on Monday after briefing parliament, referring to Iran obstructing the passage of and boarding the Stena Impero last week.
"We will seek to establish this mission as quickly as possible," Hunt said, adding that a guided missile Type 45 destroyer warship will arrive in the area by July 31.
Secondly, the Department of Transport raised the security level for all British-flagged ships to Level 3 — its highest level — "advising against all passage in Iranian waters and, for the moment, in the entire Strait of Hormuz."
In another step, Hunt revealed that the United Kingdom had "constructive conversations" over the weekend with a number of countries following a US-proposed naval alliance for strategic commercial shipping areas.
"Freedom of navigation is a vital interest of every nation, we will now seek to put together a European-led maritime protection mission to support safe passage of both crew and cargo in this vital region," the British foreign secretary said.
Hunt was clear that the steps to be undertaken have nothing to do with US actions to pressure Iran on the nuclear deal, but rather to protect Britain's commercial interests at sea.
"It will not be part of the US maximum pressure policy on Iran because we remain committed to preserving the Iran nuclear agreement," Hunt explained.
Lastly, all British-flagged ships should give notice to their country's maritime authorities prior to passing through the Strait of Hormuz for "the best protection."
"We will then advise them as to the safest way to transit, which may involve travelling in convoy," he said. "We are strengthening measures to protect ships flying the flags of other countries but which have British crew on board.
About 1,300 ships are registered by the United Kingdom, according to Hunt, and on an average "two or three" of those ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz daily.
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Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran is not seeking confrontation in a message directed at its possible incoming UK leader Boris Johnson.
"It is very important for Boris Johnson as he enters 10 Downing Street to understand that Iran does not seek confrontation, that Iran wants normal relations based on mutual respect," Zarif told reporters during a visit to Nicaragua on Monday.
"It was clear from the very beginning that the United Kingdom was doing the bidding for the Trump administration," claimed Zarif.
Zarif reiterated Iran's Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments of "piracy" which Hunt had reversed.
"What the Brits did and what the Gibraltar authorities did in the Strait of Gibraltar was a violation of international law. It was piracy," Zarif fired back.
Spokesperson for the Iranian government Ali Rabiei said at a news conference in Tehran that Iran was acting legally.
“Seizing the British tanker was a legal measure by Iran. Iran confronted the ship [to ensure] the region’s security,” he told reporters.
The British Navy says it sent repeated warnings to the Iranian forces that seized the Stena Impero that they were in violation of international law. Iran maintains that the ship had turned its transponder off after hitting a fishing boat.
"To all the countries that are calling on Iran to release the tanker, we ask them to tell Britain the same thing," the Iranian spokesman said on Monday referring to British Royal Marines seizing the Grace 1 near the Strait of Gibraltar on July 4.
“Comparing the two seizures is an unfair reading," Rabiei said.
The Panamanian-flagged Grace 1 was seized in coordination with the Government of Gibraltar on suspicions of carrying 2 million barrels of Iranian oil bound for Syria — a breach of EU sanctions.
“When you illegally seize the ship in Gibraltar, we too are not bound to tolerate any more,” he said.
Trump seemed nonchalant on the matter in remarks made prior to meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday.
"And I’ll tell you, it could go either way very easily. Very easily. And I’m okay either way it goes," Trump said.
Iran's economy has plummeted since the United States pulled out of the nuclear deal last year and re-implemented sanctions primarily targetting its trade and energy sectors.
"They don’t know whether they’re coming or going," Trump claimed. "They have tremendous problems economically. Their country is in turmoil. They’re having demonstrations all over Iran. They’re inflation rate is at 75 percent. They have a lot of problems.
"So whatever it is, it is. I’m just going to sit back and wait. Let’s see what happens..."
Oil speculators are intensely watching the situation unfold in the Strait of Hormuz where about one-fifth of the world's energy supply flows through.
Brent Crude traded at around $63.30 per barrel when Asian markets opened on Tuesday, lower than previous totals, but a 1-percent daily increase amid the uncertainty.
“The IEA is ready to act quickly and decisively in the event of a disruption to ensure that global markets remain adequately supplied,” it said, adding that executive director Fatih Birol has been in talks with IEA members, associate governments and other nations," the International Energy Agency said in a statement.
However global supply remains strong.
“Consumers can be reassured that the oil market is currently well supplied, with oil production exceeding demand in the first half of 2019, pushing up global stocks by 900,000 barrels per day,” the IEA added.
Translation by Fazel Hawramy
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