Iran says its seizure of British ship a ‘reciprocal’ move

Iran’s seizure of a British oil tanker was a response to Britain’s role in impounding an Iranian supertanker first, senior officials said, as newly released video of the incident showed Iranian commandos in black ski masks and fatigues rappelling from a helicopter onto the vessel in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. In a dramatic video released by the Revolutionary Guard, several small Guard boats can be seen surrounding the larger tanker as it moves through the strait. Above, a military helicopter hovers and then several men wearing black masks begin to rappel onto the ship.

The high-quality video was shot with at least two cameras, one from a speed boat-like vessel and one from the chopper, which captured the fatigue-clad men as they prepared to slide down a rope and also took aerial footage of the tanker. The seizure of the oil tanker Stena Impero has prompted British ministers to consider targeting Iran with sanctions, according to a report of the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is expected to announce diplomatic and economic measures, including potential asset freezes, as a response to the incident, according to the report. London could push for United Nations and European Union sanctions to be reimposed on Iran after they had been lifted in 2016 following a deal on Iran’s nuclear programme, the Telegraph reported. Meanwhile, in response to Iran’s seizure of the ship, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al Jubeir tweeted on Sunday that Iran must “be aware” of its actions in the region and that its behaviour towards the UK ships was “completely unacceptable.”

On Saturday, Britain told the United Nations Security Council that the Stena Impero was approached by Iranian forces when it was in Omani territorial waters and the action “constitutes illegal interference.” “The ship was exercising the lawful right of transit passage in an international strait as provided for under international law,” Britain’s UN mission wrote to the Security Council. “International law requires that the right of transit passage shall not be impeded, and therefore the Iranian action constitutes illegal interference.” The letter was also sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Hunt said Britain’s response “will be considered but robust.”

In comments on Twitter on Saturday, he said he spoke with Iran’s foreign minister and expressed extreme disappointment that the Iranian diplomat had assured him Iran wanted to de-escalate the situation but “they have behaved in the opposite way.” Speaking to reporters later Saturday after an emergency government meeting, Hunt said the “totally and utterly unacceptable” interception of the British-flagged Stena Impero “raises very serious questions about the security of British shipping and indeed international shipping” in the Strait of Hormuz.