Vessels currently at Great Saint James Island: PI (the pizza boat) AZULIA II, EUPHORIA, STA. ANA

Reuters: Vessels STEN IMPERO and MESDAR

Iranian forces say they seized British-flagged oil tanker in Gulf

Kate Holton, Parisa Hafezi

5 Min Read

LONDON/DUBAI (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 this month, ratcheting up tension along a vital international oil shipping route.

Undated handout photograph shows the Stena Impero, a British-flagged vessel owned by Stena Bulk, at an undisclosed location, obtained by Reuters on July 19, 2019. Stena Bulk/Handout/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY

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 through the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf.

A second tanker, the British-operated Mesdar, also made a sharp change of direction in the Gulf around the same time.

Britain’s foreign minister said a second vessel had been seized and described the capture of both tankers as unacceptable. Iran’s Guards made no mention of another ship.

Relations between Iran and the West have become increasingly tense since British naval forces seized an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar on July 4 on suspicion of smuggling oil to Syria in breach of European Union sanctions.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would talk to Britain about the tanker seizure, after a war of words earlier in the day over whether the United States had shot down an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-iran-tanker-britain/iranian-forces-say-they-seized-british-flagged-oil-tanker-in-gulf-idUSKCN1UE26E