Alex Christoforou
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
The Duran’s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss the stunning seizure of the UK Stena Impero tanker by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on Friday, in a key shipping route in the Gulf.
UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, has urged Iran to reverse its “illegal” seizure of a British-flagged tanker in the Gulf. Hunt said this “raises very serious questions” about the security of British and international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
A second British-owned Liberian-flagged tanker, the MV Mesdar, was also boarded by armed guards on the same day but was later released.
The Stena Impero seizure comes after the UK Royal Marines seized Iranian tanker Grace 1 off Gibraltar earlier this month, citing evidence it was carrying oil to Syria, in what was dubbed a breach of EU sanctions. Iran described the incident as “piracy”, but Jeremy Hunt said the Grace 1 was detained legally in Gibraltarian waters “totally within the law”.
Remember to Please Subscribe to The Duran’s YouTube Channel.
Follow The Duran Audio Podcast on Soundcloud.
Iran Delivers Shocking Blow To UK With Oil Tanker Seizure (PART 2) by The Duran
PLEASE SEE, the first part of our Iran analysis which covers Iran’s offer (later rejected) to the US to negotiate a new nuclear deal with the Trump White House. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I1qrIcYWz0 Within a matter of hours Iran offered the US a nuclear deal compromise, and then seized the UK tanker Stena Impero.
London has scored an own-goal by plunging right in the middle of the US game of nerves against Iran. The international crisis over detained tankers comes amid an awkward leadership transition at home.
Next week, Britain will have a new prime minister after Theresa May makes room for either former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson or incumbent Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. Whoever is elected next Tory leader and head of the government will get an international crisis in his lap. And it won’t be the Brexit mess that sealed the downfall of May’s premiership – there is a more acute problem with Iran.
In early July, the UK captured an oil tanker carrying Iranian crude through the Strait of Gibraltar, saying it was trying to violate EU sanctions by delivering its cargo to a Syrian port. This Friday, Tehran detained a British-flagged tanker off its coast in what is widely perceived as an act of retaliation. Iran accuses the UK of doing the US’ bidding as the administration of President Donald Trump ratchets up pressure on the Islamic Republic with deployment of military assets and threats of sanctions against buyers of its oil.
Both Johnson and Hunt said they would not support military action against Iran if Trump ordered one.
“The US is our closest ally, we talk to them the whole time, we consider any requests that they say carefully, but I cannot envisage any situation where they request or we agree to any moves to go to war,” Hunt assured MPs worried that the situation would escalate further.
Sure, the UK has a great record of resisting Washington’s requests to go to war in the Middle East. And it’s not like the architects of the 2003 Iraq invasion, like John Bolton, are back in power in Washington, leading the charge against Iran, right?
John Bolton on Twitter: “Excellent news: UK has detained the supertanker Grace I laden with Iranian oil bound for Syria in violation of EU sanctions. America & our allies will continue to prevent regimes in Tehran & Damascus from profiting off this illicit trade. / Twitter”
Excellent news: UK has detained the supertanker Grace I laden with Iranian oil bound for Syria in violation of EU sanctions. America & our allies will continue to prevent regimes in Tehran & Damascus from profiting off this illicit trade.
It may be tricky to declare your intentions for peace while pretending that all the culprits sit in Tehran, to the beat of war drums coming from Washington. What if newspapers learn that you have quietly asked your allies across the pond to please shut up… pardon, to “refrain from making inflammatory public statements”?
There is also the Labour opposition, ready to point out the UK’s embarrassing role in the stand-off with Iran.
“Our role is to speak up for conflict resolution, de-escalation,” said shadow Foreign Secretary Richard Burgon in an interview with Sky News. “What we don’t want to do is end up being just the messengers or sidekicks of Donald Trump and John Bolton.”
Washington’s hand in the seizure of the Iranian tanker was publicly confirmed by Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell, who probably was not thrilled to see the Royal Marines in action in the territorial waters of Gibraltar, which Madrid refuses to see as British.
The US and Iran have been engaged in a brinkmanship confrontation since May, with the sabotage of oil tankers, takedowns of drones, and constant bickering over whose “malign actions” are a bigger threat to stability in the region. The Trump administration went on the war path against Iran last year after sending the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran down the drain, a key foreign policy achievement under Barack Obama. But it had a hard time convincing other signatories, including the UK, that it was a good idea.
Now London finds itself in the fray, despite all the Brexit chaos at home. The person on the British side who gave the order to raid the Iranian tanker may have given the hawks in Washington a nice present for Independence Day. Will it be good for Britain? It’s anyone’s guess.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Here is an article that explains the backstory behind Tehran’s recent arrest of CIA operatives in Iran:
https://viableopposition.blogspot.com/2019/04/iran-and-cias-worst-nightmare.html
It appears that the American intelligence network has learned little from the disaster of September 2001.
“American intelligence” is an oxymoron.
Takes the tops of all US agencies to cover up 9.11.
Bush knew it was going to happen. Watch his face when told the attacks started….he knew and let the US NEOCON insiders, Israel, and Saudi pull 9.11 off.
The goal of the ship tit-for-tat is an eventual US naval blockade of Iranian oil shipments. That is how the US wants to get the Iran war started. All this business about having other countries send ships is just a cover for the real goal. Britain and the EU are being duplicitous, as is proven by their refusal to convene the JCPOA Joint Commission to deal with Iran’s formal complaint over the US withdrawal from the JCPOA and the US withdrawal itself, while claiming they want to focus on “diplomacy.” This proves that Britain and the EU are going along… Read more »
Reportedly, the U$ is “staying out of” the UK-Iran tit-for-tat seizures of their respective oil tankers, but with respect to the UK’s seizure of the tanker carrying Iranian oil Reuters reports: “Gibraltar denies that it was ordered to detain the vessel, which was carrying up to 2.1 million barrels of oil, but several diplomatic sources said the United States asked the United Kingdom to seize the vessel.” So, if this is true, it’s just another case of the U$ hiding from view after sticking a spanner in the works to provoke conflict for its purpose of stealing another country’s oil… Read more »
“Will it be good for Britain? It’s anyone’s guess.”
I liked the article but not that last sentence at all. Clearly the UK is in no position to get drawn into a serious confrontation in the Gulf. Even my 6 year old grandson can see a ‘no win’ outcome for an act of such crass stupidity. The now thoroughly dysfunctional farce known as the UK Government has revealed it can indeed stoop lower than the depths it has consistently descended since Sep 2001.
Well said! however I’d backdate the Crass Stupidity date to the introduction of US neocon puppet (and then unknown) Tony Blair following the sudden inexplicable death of John Smith, Labour party leader. Since then the UK has been held captive by the globalist neocons, along with fellow puppet states France and Germany (and the EU!) – all exhibiting the same painful deterioration in the quality of their ruling personnel, their foreign policies (and corresponding rationales), their gross disregard for law,, censorship and authoritarianism. Not to mention the deteriorating quality of life within their countries – and no longer even a… Read more »
The pommie scum pirates didn’t think for a second that Iran would actually retaliate. I’m willing to bet that many “pollies” in gb shit their pants when they heard about the tanker apprehension. Their useless rowboat navy couldn’t even defend ONE TANKER, let alone gb.
People in Britain don’t wear “pants” : they wear trousers.
Pants and panties (little pants) are what they wear under their trousers.