(Breaking news) Iran Seizes Brit Tanker

[yinyang]

Britain says Iran seizes two oil tankers in Gulf, Iran says captured one
Kate Holton, Parisa Hafezi

LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) - Britain said Iran seized two oil tankers in the Gulf on Friday and told Tehran to return the vessels or face consequences in the latest confrontation to ratchet up tension along a vital international oil shipping route.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had captured the British-flagged Stena Impero, announcing the move two weeks after the British navy seized an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said the second vessel, the British-operated Mesdar, had not been seized. It said the ship had been allowed to continue its course after being given a warning over safety and environmental issues.

• The Stena Impero and Mesdar changed direction sharply within 40 minutes of each other shortly after entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, taking up a course toward Iran, Refinitiv tracking data showed.

The data later showed Mesdar changing direction again, heading westward back into the Gulf.
“These seizures are unacceptable. It is essential that freedom of navigation is maintained and that all ships can move safely and freely in the region,” British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said.

Hunt later said, in comments reported by Sky News, that there would be consequences if Iran did not return control of the ships but said Britain was not considering military options.

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

Already strained relations between Iran and the West have become increasingly fraught since the British navy seized Iran’s Grace 1 tanker in Gibraltar on July 4 on suspicion of smuggling oil to Syria in breach of European Union sanctions.
Oil prices LCOc1 gained on Friday after the latest spike in tensions along the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil supplies pass.

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/via REUTERS

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-iran-tanker-britain/britain-says-iran-seizes-two-oil-tankers-in-gulf-iran-says-captured-one-idUSKCN1UE26E

 

[yinyang]

MARITIME RULES
Iran’s Guards, an elite force under the command of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said they seized the Stena Impero at the request of Iranian authorities for “not following international maritime regulations,” state television reported.
Northern Marine Management, which is owned by Stena AB, confirmed the Stena Impero was heading toward Iran.
Norbulk, the manager of the tanker Mesdar, said the vessel had been boarded by armed personnel but was later allowed to continue its voyage. It said the crew were safe and well.

Iran had said it would retaliate against the seizure in Gibraltar. Just days later, three Iranian vessels tried to block a British-owned tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz but they backed off when confronted by a British navy ship.


Refinitiv data showed the Stena Impero vessel is owned by Stena Bulk and indicated its destination had been the Saudi port of Jubail on the Gulf. The tracking map showed it veering off course about 1517 GMT and heading toward Iran.
The Mesdar made its shift toward Iran at about 1600 GMT.
“We received reports that the British Stena Impero oil tanker was causing incidents and, therefore, we asked the military to direct it to Bandar Abbas port for the necessary probes,” Allahmorad Afifipour, head of Hormozgan’s maritime authority, told Tasnim news agency.

Undated photograph shows the Mesdar, a British-operated oil tanker in Fawley, Britain obtained by Reuters on July 19, 2019. JOHN PITCHER/via

‘IGNORED WARNINGS’
Tasnim, which cited military sources as saying the Mesdar had not been seized, said the Stena Impero had been causing pollution by dumping oil residue.


An Iranian military source said the Stena Impero “had turned off its tracker and ignored several warnings by the Guards before being captured,” the official IRNA news agency reported.
State television said the Stena Impero was taken to a coastal area and turned over to the authorities to take the necessary legal steps, the television added.

Supreme Leader Khamenei said on Tuesday Iran would respond to Britain’s “piracy” over the seizure of the Iran’s Grace 1 tanker in Gibraltar.
Tehran has repeatedly called for the ship’s release, denies the allegation that the tanker was taking oil to Syria in violation of sanctions and says Gibraltar and Britain seized the vessel on the orders of Washington.


Tensions between the United States and Iran have been steadily rising since Washington withdrew last year from a global pact aimed at reining in Tehran’s nuclear program and imposed sanctions that seek to shutdown Iranian oil exports.
Iran has said it would not halt its oil exports, the government’s main source of revenue.


Behnam Ben Taleblu, an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Tehran’s action suggested U.S. sanctions “are working and that negotiations with America or world powers will need to happen”.
Guy Platten, secretary general of the International Chamber of Shipping, called on all those involved in Friday’s shipping incident to seek a swift resolution to the incident that threatened the safety of seafarers.


“Freedom of navigation is vital for global trade and we encourage all nations to uphold this fundamental principle of maritime law,” he said.
Reporting by Kate Holton and Jonathan Saul in London and Reuters staff in Dubai; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Frances Kerry

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

[Froggy]

Iranians are getting pretty desperate with sanctions really taking its bite on them.

 

[Leongsam]

Iranians are getting pretty desperate with sanctions really taking its bite on them.

This will teach them not to fuck around with the world's best President the one only Donald J. Trump!!!!

 

[yinyang]

Iranians are getting pretty desperate with sanctions really taking its bite on them.

Rising tensions in ME. Also with US navy downing the mullahs' drone

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/na...-s-navy-ship-shot-down-iranian-drone-n1031451

NATIONAL SECURITY

U.S. Marines jam an Iranian drone in the Gulf, destroying it
The U.S. “took defensive action” against a drone that had “closed into a very, very near distance,” Trump

July 19, 2019, 3:32 AM GMT+8 / Updated July 19, 2019, 5:37 PM GMT+8
By Mosheh Gains, Courtney Kube and Adam Edelman
U.S. Marines jammed an Iranian drone in the Gulf of Hormuz Thursday, senior defense officials said, bringing the aircraft down and destroying it. It was the latest in a series of tense incidents between Washington and Tehran.
Iran, however, denied that it had lost any drones in the area.

President Donald Trump earlier told reporters at the White House on Thursday that the USS Boxer — an amphibious assault ship — “took defensive action” against the Iranian drone that had “closed into a very, very near distance, approximately 1,000 yards.”
The drone was “threatening safety of the ship and the ship's crew” and “was immediately destroyed,” he said.

 

[yinyang]

 

[yinyang]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...pond-to-irans-seizure-of-tanker-idUSKCN1UG08N

JULY 21, 2019 / 4:46 PM / UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO
Britain considering options to respond to Iran's seizure of tanker

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is looking into a series of options to respond to Iran’s seizure of a British-flagged tanker, junior defense minister Tobias Ellwood said on Sunday when asked whether London was considering putting sanctions on Tehran.

“Our first and most important responsibility is to make sure that we get a solution to the issue to do with the current ship, make sure other British-flagged ships are safe to operate in these waters and then look at the wider picture,” he told Sky News.

Asked about the possibility of sanctions, he said: “We are going to be looking at a series of options ... We will be speaking with our colleagues, our international allies, to see what can actually be done.”

 

[yinyang]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...s-says-crew-of-seized-ship-safe-idUSKCN1UG05M

JULY 21, 2019
Iran warns UK against escalating tensions, says crew of seized ship safe

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran’s ambassador to Britain warned against escalating tensions on Sunday as a UK official failed to rule out sanctions in response to Tehran’s seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker.

Stena Impero, a British-flagged vessel owned by Stena Bulk, is seen at Bandar Abbas port, in this undated handout photo. Tasnim News Agency/Handout via REUTERS

Britain has called Iran’s capture of the Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday a “hostile act”.

Britain needs to contain “those domestic political forces who want to escalate existing tension between Iran and the UK well beyond the issue of ships,” Iran’s envoy to Britain Hamid Baeidinejad said on Twitter.

“This is quite dangerous and unwise at a sensitive time in the region,” he said, adding that Iran “is firm and ready for different scenarios.”

 

[syed putra]

Iran is following international law. An eye for an eye.

 

[mudhatter]

Iranians are getting pretty desperate with sanctions really taking its bite on them.

Wrong.

It seems like Stinky Chinks and Malaysian Chinks are brainwashed with Ang Moh Media propaganda.

All of you slanties need to go for plastic surgery so you can see wider.

It's the UK that seized Iranian tankers first.

 

[mudhatter]

Rising tensions in ME. Also with US navy downing the mullahs' drone

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/na...-s-navy-ship-shot-down-iranian-drone-n1031451

NATIONAL SECURITY

U.S. Marines jam an Iranian drone in the Gulf, destroying it
The U.S. “took defensive action” against a drone that had “closed into a very, very near distance,” Trump
View attachment 61450
July 19, 2019, 3:32 AM GMT+8 / Updated July 19, 2019, 5:37 PM GMT+8
By Mosheh Gains, Courtney Kube and Adam Edelman
U.S. Marines jammed an Iranian drone in the Gulf of Hormuz Thursday, senior defense officials said, bringing the aircraft down and destroying it. It was the latest in a series of tense incidents between Washington and Tehran.
Iran, however, denied that it had lost any drones in the area.

President Donald Trump earlier told reporters at the White House on Thursday that the USS Boxer — an amphibious assault ship — “took defensive action” against the Iranian drone that had “closed into a very, very near distance, approximately 1,000 yards.”
The drone was “threatening safety of the ship and the ship's crew” and “was immediately destroyed,” he said.

These ugly sons of chink bitches can't see with their eyes wide open.

Iran denied any of its drones was shot down.

Where is the proof from the Yankee side? Any evidence?

 

[yinyang]

Iran is following international law. An eye for an eye.

Your Wahhabi brethren disagrees, and condemns Iran

Reuters
Saudi minister says Iran's actions are unacceptable

CAIRO (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s minister of state for foreign affairs on Sunday condemned Iran’s seizure of a British flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and urged the international community to take action to deter such “unacceptable” behavior.

“Any attack on the freedom of navigation is a violation of international law,” Adel Aljubeir said in a Twitter post.

“Iran must realize its acts of intercepting ships, including most recently the British ship, are completely unacceptable. The world community must take action to deter such behavior,” he added.

Iran said on Friday it had seized Britain’s Stena Impero tanker, which had been heading to a port in Saudi Arabia and suddenly changed course after passing through the strait at the mouth of the Gulf.

 

[yinyang]

Timeline: Iran's recent clashes with the West over Gulf shipping, nuclear plans

(Reuters) - Tensions between Iran and the West have escalated since U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports took full effect in May and British naval forces seized an Iranian supertanker.

Below is a timeline of recent incidents:
May 2 - The United States, which withdrew from a nuclear accord between Iran and global powers in 2018 and stepped up sanctions on Tehran, ends waivers that had allowed eight countries - China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey - to continue buying Iranian crude
May 5 - The United States says it is deploying an aircraft carrier strike group and bombers to the Middle East, citing threats from Iran
May 8 - Iran announces it will relax some curbs on its nuclear program, stopping short of violating its 2015 deal with world powers but threatening more action if countries do not shield it from U.S. sanctions
May 10 - The U.S. Maritime Administration warns of possible Iranian attacks on shipping in the Gulf
May 12 - Four ships, including two Saudi oil tankers, are attacked in the Gulf just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route. U.S. officials pin the blame on Iran, a charge Tehran denies

June 13 - Two tankers are attacked south of the Strait of Hormuz. Washington again blames Iran and Tehran denies any role
June 20 - Iran shoots down an unmanned U.S. surveillance drone.
July 4 - Royal Marines seize Iranian supertanker Grace 1 near Gibraltar on suspicion of violating European Union sanctions on Syria
July 5 - An Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander threatens to seize a British ship unless the Grace 1 is released
July 7 - Iran says it will boost uranium enrichment above a cap set under the 2015 nuclear deal and will reduce its commitments to the pact, drawing a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump and expressions of concern from Germany, France and Britain
July 10 - Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose issues verbal warnings and aims its guns at boats believed to belong to Iranian Revolutionary Guards which approached BP (BP.L) oil tanker British Heritage at the northern entrance of the Strait of Hormuz
July 18 - The United States says USS Boxer “destroyed” an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz after it threatened the U.S. Navy ship but Iran denies it has lost a drone
July 19 - Gibraltar extends detention of tanker Grace 1 by one month

July 19 - Iran seizes British-operated oil tankers Stena Impero and Mesdar, the latter released after receiving a warning from Iranian authorities

 

[glockman]

How dare those sand niggers behave this way! Forget the sanctions, just nuke that bloody country. Lake Iran is a good name, has a nice ring to it.

 

[syed putra]

Your Wahhabi brethren disagrees, and condemns Iran

Reuters
Saudi minister says Iran's actions are unacceptable

View attachment 61598

CAIRO (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s minister of state for foreign affairs on Sunday condemned Iran’s seizure of a British flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and urged the international community to take action to deter such “unacceptable” behavior.

“Any attack on the freedom of navigation is a violation of international law,” Adel Aljubeir said in a Twitter post.

“Iran must realize its acts of intercepting ships, including most recently the British ship, are completely unacceptable. The world community must take action to deter such behavior,” he added.

Iran said on Friday it had seized Britain’s Stena Impero tanker, which had been heading to a port in Saudi Arabia and suddenly changed course after passing through the strait at the mouth of the Gulf.

Saudi leader is a dying duck.
The yemenis are shooting missiles into saudi.
And the people of saudi or the saud family feud will soon rise up to kick the despot leader to a slow agonising and painful torment and eventual death.

 

[whoami]

While tension hitting up between Iran and US/UK, cunning and coward sob Israel flew into Iraq and bomb Iraq territory. UN can close down lah.

 

[Rogue Trader]

The US and allies have been trying to start a war with Iran through several false flag incidents but Russia and China have been trying not to let them succeed. Don't just consume the US side of the story

 

[whoami]

The US and allies have been trying to start a war with Iran through several false flag incidents but Russia and China have been trying not to let them succeed. Don't just consume the US side of the story

US has been lying thru her teeth. Be it invasion of Iraq or sept 11, Egypt, Syria, Lybia. Even try to invade and instal a puppet in Venezuela.

 

[Rogue Trader]

US has been lying thru her teeth. Be it invasion of Iraq or sept 11, Egypt, Syria, Lybia. Even try to invade and instal a puppet in Venezuela.

I'm not sure about 9/11 but the Vietnam war was definitely started by US in the name of defending its naval asset (Gulf of Tonkin incident is now declassified) .. maybe in a few decades the 9/11 files will be declassified too and the truth will be revealed

 

[yinyang]

Iran in the Gulf !
Emad Hajjaj