ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN SEIZES BRITISH-FLAGGED TANKER; UK VOWS "CONSIDERED, BUT ROBUST" RESPONSE

Radio exchanges reveal Iran-UK confrontation before oil tanker was seized

Dramatic audio of radio exchanges between a British warship and an Iranian armed forces vessel revealed the moments before a British-flagged oil tanker was seized in the Gulf. In the audio, the Iranian vessel can he heard instructing the tanker, the Stena Impero, to change direction: : "If you obey, you will be safe. Alter course to 360 degrees immediately, over." The frigate then asks the Iranian vessel to confirm it is not "intending to violate international law" by attempting to board the tanker, in the recording obtained by security firm Dryad Global. The Iranian vessel then tells the Royal Navy frigate that its intention is to inspect the Stena Impero, for "security reasons".

ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN SEIZES BRITISH-FLAGGED TANKER; UK VOWS "CONSIDERED, BUT ROBUST" RESPONSE

BY ROBERT SPENCER

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2019/07/islamic-republic-of-iran-seizes-british-flagged-tanker-uk-vows-considered-but-robust-response; 

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards posted a video showing speedboats pulling up alongside the detained British-flagged tanker Stena Impero and troops wearing ski masks and carrying machine guns rappelling to its deck from a helicopter.https://t.co/lUVJTrGy2Lpic.twitter.com/kJfS8RBWd1

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) July 20, 2019 The Islamic Republic of Iran would never have dared to do this if they had any fear that Britain’s response would be in any true sense “robust.” But the mullahs know that the pusillanimous British government will mutter and fume and then…offer them a few billion pounds. The British government knows that if its response were actually “robust,” it would be accused of “Islamophobia.” And that’s the charge it fears above all things.




“UK vows ‘robust’ action if Iran doesn’t release British-flagged oil tanker,” by Joshua Berlinger and Eliza Mackintosh, CNN, July 20, 2019:


(CNN)Britain reiterated warnings Saturday that it would take “robust” action if Iran did not release a UK-flagged oil tanker it seized in the Strait of Hormuz, the latest confrontation in a tense standoff unfolding in the important shipping route.

The vessel captured by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Friday is now at the center of a widening crisis between Iran and Western powers, as Tehran fights to free itself from the crippling effects of US economic sanctions and reset nuclear talks.

But there could be serious consequences for the Islamic Republic’s aggression toward the UK — one of three European powers that have sought to save the 2015 Iran nuclear deal even after the United States dropped out.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the incident showed “worrying signs Iran may be choosing a dangerous path of illegal and destabilizing behavior,” adding that the UK’s response would be “considered, but robust.”

The Foreign Office summoned the Iranian chargé d’affaires on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, the government was set to convene a second emergency meeting of national security officials to discuss its response, a Downing Street spokeswoman told CNN.

The UK has warned ships connected to the country’s shipping industry to “stay out of the area” in the interim.
Iranian media reported Saturday that the ship, the Stena Impero, was captured following an accident with a fishing boat and was being held for “violating international regulations.” A second British-owned ship, the Liberian-flagged MV Mesdar, was briefly held by Iran but then released….