New escalation: Did Iran want to hijack oil tankers?

A British warship is said to have prevented a raid on a tanker in the Persian Gulf on Wednesday. The frigate HMS Montrose had been able to fend off the attack of the Iranian Navy - the tanker British Heritage had been urged by British armed forces three ships to change course and to head for Iranian territorial waters. Iran denies.

As the oil tanker wanted to pass the Strait of Hormuz, several military ships have approached the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Although the ship was escorted by a frigate, the attackers tried to force the tanker into Iranian waters. They had "contrary to international law" tried to prevent the merchant ship at the transit, let the government in London know.

According to the British government, the warship HMS Montrose had to intervene. They had his deck cannons in position to force the rivals to retreat. After the guns were pointed at the Iranian ships and a warning was given by radio, the attackers would have retreated. "We are concerned about this action and urge the Iranian authorities to de-escalate the situation in the region," London said. The tanker is now back on its original course, as the online apparent ship position reveals.

Iran denies escalation

Iran denied the incident. "The goal of such worthless insinuations is merely to provoke tension," said Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards also denied the alleged attack. "In the past 24 hours we have had no incident with foreign ships in the Strait of Hormuz, not even with a British one," the Revolutionary Guards said on their website.

Despite the tense situation, Iran did not hesitate to issue a threat to Britain and the US. The Islamic Republic is annoyed that a flagship oil tanker was stopped and arrested a week before Gibraltar . London and Washington would "regret" the step, announced the Vice Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

Vengeance of Iran on the high seas? 

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani threatened Britain with consequences just days before the Gibraltar incident. "The British supertanker's stoppage was a mistake and stupid. We must all work to ensure that international shipping remains safe and not make them unsafe with such action, "Rouhani said Wednesday. Britain should heed this, "so as not to bear the consequences later".

Iranian supertanker Grace 1 had been stopped last week outside Gibraltar on charges of illegal oil supplies to Syria. The British Navy was also involved in the action. Iran protested, ordering the British ambassador to Tehran three times and demanding that the ship be continued immediately. The Supreme Court of the British Overseas Territory has now ordered that the ship may not leave again until at least 21 July.

In June, there had already been mysterious incidents involving two tankers in the Gulf of Oman . The US government blamed Iran for that, and the leadership in Tehran denied the allegations. The incidents fanned international fears of a military escalation between the two countries.

A relaxation in the conflict between the US and Iran is currently not in sight. US President Donald Trump threatened the Tehran leadership on Wednesday with a further tightening of sanctions, accusing her of having secretly amassed uranium for a long time.

Conflict since Iran's exit from

nuclear deal with Iran The 2015 international nuclear deal was designed to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb while ending its political and economic isolation. From the point of view of the Trump government, however, Iran did not permanently prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. In May 2018, the US unilaterally disregarded the agreement reached in Vienna and reintroduced severe sanctions against Tehran. Iran has recently had higher uranium supplies than allowed. The permissible upper limit for the enrichment of uranium has also recently been exceeded. Iran, however, denies wanting to build nuclear weapons.

US Central Command said after the recent incident, threats to international shipping would require an international solution. The world economy is dependent on free trade routes, and it is up to all nations to secure them. US officials also said, "We are aware of reports that Iranian boats have attempted to confiscate a British oil tanker." The US continued to work with allies and partners to address the "malicious activities" of the Iranian leadership and the protect global trade.

The US Department of Defense had previously announced its intention to push ahead with plans for an international coalition to protect merchant ships. The Pentagon has designed a concrete plan. In a few weeks it will be decided which countries would join the Alliance.

The affected strait, the Strait of Hormuz, is one of the most important sea routes ever. Oil rich Gulf region with the open sea. Over the route, a large part of the world's oil transportation is by ship.