UK says prevented Iran bid to block tanker

A week after Britain seized an Iranian tanker accused of violating sanctions on Syria, London said the British Heritage, operated by oil company BP, had been approached in the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and the Arabian peninsula.

“HMS Montrose was forced to position herself between the Iranian vessels and British Heritage and issue verbal warnings to the Iranian vessels, which then turned away,” a British government spokesman said in a statement on Thursday.

It urged Iran to “de-escalate the situation in the region”.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif dismissed as “worthless” the allegation that Iran sought to block the ship.

The US blames Iran for a series of attacks on shipping in the world’s most important oil artery since mid-May, accusations Tehran rejects.

The foes came as close as ever to direct military conflict last month, when Iran shot down a US drone and Trump ordered retaliatory air strikes, only to call them off minutes before impact.

Read the article by William Schomberg in The Canberra Times (AAP).