Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Friday they had captured a British-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf after Britain seized an Iranian vessel this month, ratcheting up tension along a vital international oil shipping route.

Britain said it was urgently seeking information about the Stena Impero after the tanker, which had been heading to a port in Saudi Arabia, suddenly changed course after passing through the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf.

A second tanker, the British-operated Mesdar, also made a sharp change of direction in the Gulf around the same time.

Britain’s foreign minister said a second vessel had been seized and described the capture of both tankers as unacceptable. Iran’s Guards made no mention of another ship.

Relations between Iran and the West have become increasingly tense since British naval forces seized an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar on July 4 on suspicion of smuggling oil to Syria in breach of European Union sanctions.

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

Oil prices LCOc1 gained on Friday, trading above $62 a barrel, after the latest spike in tensions along a waterway through which a fifth of the world’s crude supplies pass.

The 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 said the Stena Impero was heading north towards Iran. Northern Marine Group is owned by Stena AB.

Refinitiv tracking data showed the British-operated and Liberian-flagged Mesdar also changed course sharply after entering the Gulf and started heading towards the Iranian coast, about 40 minutes after the Stena Impero shifted direction.

British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said “I’m extremely concerned” about the seizures of both ships.

There was no immediate word from the Guards about the second tanker. Mesdar’s manager Norbulk said it was checking the report.

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

CHANGING COURSE
“We are urgently seeking further information and assessing the situation following reports of an incident in the Gulf,” a spokesman for Britain’s Ministry of Defence said after the Stena Impero changed course.

A person familiar with the matter said the British government’s emergency committee was meeting over the issue.

Refinitiv data showed the Stena Impero is a British-flagged vessel owned by Stena Bulk. It showed the vessel’s destination as the Saudi port of Jubail on the Gulf.

The map tracking the ship showed it veering off course with a sharp turn north at about 1517 GMT and heading toward the Iranian coast.

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 Iran’s semi-official news agency Tasnim.

Tasnim also quoted unnamed sources saying tanker 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 tanker was taken to a coastal area and turned over to the authorities to take the necessary legal steps, the television added.

‘PIRACY’
Supreme Leader Khamenei said on Tuesday Iran would respond to Britain’s “piracy” over the seizure of the Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar.

Iran 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.

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.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-iran-tanker-britain/iranian-forces-say-they-seized-british-flagged-oil-tanker-in-gulf-idUSKCN1UE26E

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-49053383

https://m.dw.com/en/iran-reports-seizure-of-british-flagged-oil-tanker-in-gulf/a-49657376

I saw this coming


Iran don't issue threats without seeing of to it
The UK should have released their tanker when Iran asked them too.


Now they go release am by force.....I kinda like Iran though

Britain says seizures of UK vessels by Iran are ‘unacceptable’

https://www.rt.com/news/464600-vessels-iran-tanker-seizures/

rowland545:
I saw this coming


Iran don't issue threats without seeing of to it
The UK should have released their tanker when Iran asked them too.


Now they go release am by force.....I kinda like Iran though

Let's see how this pans out.
The Iranians are giving the top guns a good run for their money.

IRGC says captures British oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/07/19/601353/Iran-IRGC-British-oil-tanker-strait-of-Hormuz

rowland545:
I saw this coming


Iran don't issue threats without seeing of to it
The UK should have released their tanker when Iran asked them too.


Now they go release am by force.....I kinda like Iran though

That's something I thought UK should have known by now. Iran said they will retaliate and they did - Iran does not bluff.

What will happen? UK and US will only blow hot air and later negotiate with Iran. Truth is, Iran is way too powerful to be toyed with.

Trapping:



That's something I thought UK should have known by now. Iran said they will retaliate and they did - Iran does not bluff.

What will happen? UK and US will only blow hot air and later negotiate with Iran. Truth is, Iran is way too powerful to be toyed with.

The Iranians are not bluffing at all. This is a "major" escalation of the already tensed situation in the middle east.

Just watch as the timid Theresa may will fold like a chicken and do nothing

Trapping:



That's something I thought UK should have known by now. Iran said they will retaliate and they did - Iran does not bluff.

What will happen? UK and US will only blow hot air and later negotiate with Iran. Truth is, Iran is way too powerful to be toyed with.

dats tru.... The Persians r stubborn people and us is going about Di's the wrong way

Okkkk
Make dem destroy this WORLD sef na make we all rest

Iran is heading towards destruction. The combo of israel, uk , saudi and USA go deal with them wella. Nevertheless its about time someone stood up to these bullies

God help us.

Trapping:



That's something I thought UK should have known by now. Iran said they will retaliate and they did - Iran does not bluff.

What will happen? UK and US will only blow hot air and later negotiate with Iran. Truth is, Iran is way too powerful to be toyed with.

We all know what happened in the late 80s just before the Iraq-Iran war, when Iran revolutionary army began a campaign of seizing and destroying foreign ships in the straits. Iran’s Navy was incapacitated by the US, Navy in the region.

The truth is that we all want someone tough to stand against the US but it comes at a great price. You may not know what the Iranian people are going through but their economy is the worst it has ever been in modern history, and this is just the beginning of more sanctions. We may see it as illegal or unfair, but it is a game of power and resistance. How long you are able to resist, and the nature of your opposition determines you survival. One thing is certain, there won’t be an all out war in the region but the pressure will continue even if Iran is willing to negotiate. Trump has a disdain for the leadership and Iran’s leadership hates and doesn’t trust the Trump admin. It’s a complex world in a funny circle.

I pity Iran. Hopefully Trump and the west might find ways of clamping down the wings of this Iranians that solely rely on the western technology and economy!!

G

You just have to love international politics the major contenders are really turning tables..


for your used electronics ranging from Smart TV's,air conditioners,sound bars,washing machine and General electronics,check my signature or website

sammyj:
I pity Iran. Hopefully Trump and the west might find ways of clamping down the wings of this Iranians that solely rely on the western technology and economy!!

Western Technology you say. You watch a lot of CNN and BBC. Iran is hard nut to crack. Trump and his allies all know that too well. Watch how the Iranian ship seized off Gibraltar be returned in days..

orisumibare1:
Do me I do you...

...God no go vex

The "Belligerent Bastard Children of Yahweh in Tel Aviv" have issued instructions to their "stooge goys" in Washington and London to start another kosher war.

These whores always do as they’re told by their Zionist masters in Tel Aviv. They have been escalating step by step as instructed leading inevitably towards war.

Economic strangulation is an act of war.

Seizing the Iranian tanker off Gibraltar is an act of war.

Encroaching on Iranian Airspace with your useless "Stealthy Drone" is an act of war.

Conducting cyber warfare against Iran is an act of war.

Sponsoring MEK terror against Iran is an act of war.

Not that they have been particularly coy or surreptitious about this. There have been threats to “obliterate” Iran both from Tel Aviv and the Jewnited Snakes of Amerika virtually on a daily basis for the past 20 years.

Trying to pretend otherwise or spout hot air about “diplomacy” or “restraint” is an exercise in futility. You don’t wait for a rattlesnake to strike.

It’s not a question of if there will be a war, the war has already begun. It actually began quite a while ago. That’s the reality of it.

Ever since General Wesley Clark (Retired 4-Star US Army General & Supreme Allied Commander of NATO) revealed the plan to take out 7 Countries in the Middle East & North Afrika beginning with Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan & ending with Iran, the war-mongering bastards have been cooking up series of false-flag just to justify the invasion of Iran like they did to Iraq.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.globalresearch.ca/we-re-going-to-take-out-7-countries-in-5-years-iraq-syria-lebanon-libya-somalia-sudan-iran/5166/amp

In 2007, Dick Cheney, Amerikan Vice President in the Bush Administration, wanted to "stage" an attack on an Amerikan warship - using Amerikan personnel dressed as Iranians in small vessels resembling Iranian patrol boats - to justify a war with Iran.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMLFlOqt2nk

Guess what? They did it in 2019 by attacking two "Japanese Tankers" in the Iranian Strait of Hormuz while the Japanese PM was in Tehran having a coffee with the Iranian leadership.

And when the Amerikan bastards saw that the entire world did not buy the false-flag, they activated "Plan B" - Flying a completely "Useless Drone" in Stealth Mode to encroach on Iranian Airspace - and the $220 Million flying coffin was shot down by an outdated Air Defense System.

If not that Trump and his fellow perfumed-military Generals are bereft of a fully functioning human brains, why would Iran decide to attack two “Japan-related” tankers while the Japanese head of state is in their country?

One thing is certain; This war that is itching Amerika in her belly, is coming - and will be very expensive in body bags going back to Amerikan cities, ships and aircraft littering the sea bed and land, all around the Gulf and up to the Mediterranean and Caspian - leading to the eventual collapse of the United Snakes of Amerikan.

I trust the EU and some other Amerikan "eye-service" allies to declare neutrality when the bombs start flying.

The Arab tribes of Iraq, from 2003 onwards gave the Amerikan occupation forces in Iraq hell. 14 out of the total 16 battalions of the Amerikan military were effectively bogged down with no end in sight.

They were chasing insurgents who chose where and when to hit, armored columns were shredded by daisy chained IED’s and the children of Saddam Hussein (Iraqi snipers) were instilling terror into the hearts of Coalition troops….

Needless to say, all the uploaded videos of IED attacks, and all of many sniper videos were mysteriously deleted from YouTube.

Syria is already organizing the Arab tribes, … their final declaration was ominous for any occupiers. They promised to evict the Amerikan military and expel lackey Kurds. Interestingly enough, even Iraqi tribal leaders showed up at the last big conference in Syria.

Amerikan, British, French and SDF Kurds will bleed volumes in (Northern) Syria. The fighting will be close and personal. (Because) Arab and Iranian fighters have learned how to negate air power.

It's an old Soviet tactic, used especially at Stalingrad, nicknamed by the Soviets "to grab and hug the enemy". When Air Forces cannot engage effectively, equivalent of losing your queen in chess right at the start.

In 2006, using this tactic to neutralise Israeli air power, 3000 Hezbollah fighters stopped 75,000 Israeli IDF troops and two armored battalions. 44 out of the 400 Israeli Merkava MBT’s were totally destroyed. In essence, the Israeli forces were not even able to hold even the smallest of Lebanese border villages.

Iranian "General Salami" recently made a trip to Syria, and said ” There is a whole Islamic Army ready to engage in total war against arrogant powers".

Iran has brought in about 40-50 thousand Afghan volunteers; there are also Chechen volunteers in their thousands (who routed the Ukrainian military in 2015 in the Donbass, who fight much like Hezbollah, and are hard lethal in artillery. Just ask the Ukies)

There are tens of thousands of hardcore Iranian Basij volunteers, and the Basij number around 17 million in Iran, so there will be no shortage of volunteers.

There are Pakistani’s, Malaysians, Indonesians, along with many thousands of former terrorists who have been re-educated, who now know who the real enemy is, and are ready to go.

This is why I laugh when I see teenagers on Nairaland whose brain are yet to fully develop - in their ignorance, rush to comment on Geo-political issues which even their fathers at home know absolutely nothing about, except digesting whatever they watch on CNN & BBC (no offense meant).

Times have changed and this will be a different war. Their (Amerika, UK and France) small bases and limited troops in the Middle East will quickly be overrun and taken prisoner if they are lucky enough not to be annihilated.

I trust Mother Russia to condemn the warring parties and suing for peace with her mouth while covertly supplying Iran with her sophisticated & state-of-the-art military gears that will take Amerika back to the stone age.

And then, we have China, who regards Pakistan and the Iran-Iraq-Syria-Lebanon (“Arch of Stability”) as an integral, vital and indispensable part of its crucial and gargantuan OBR Silk Roads.

The Chinese have already linked up Pakistan and Iran, soon they will link up Iraq and Syria. The Chinese are also building a massive port in Lebanon, and plan on building another massive port in Yemen as soon as the Houthi’s prevail.

China looks forward to "US&Co" being expelled from the region. and will supply the forces of the "Axis of Resistance" with all the cheap, yet very lethal weapons needed for this most important endeavor.

This long-awaited war will come inevitably and consume all the children of Satan in Washington, London, Tel Aviv, Paris & Riyadh.

Trapping:



That's something I thought UK should have known by now. Iran said they will retaliate and they did - Iran does not bluff.

What will happen? UK and US will only blow hot air and later negotiate with Iran. Truth is, Iran is way too powerful to be toyed with.

powerful in what pls. Because Iran sieze UK ship? Nah wa for you.

ednut1:
Iran is heading towards destruction. The combo of israel, uk , saudi and USA go deal with them wella. Nevertheless its about time someone stood up to these bullies

Why talking like this. Can Iran even withstand Saudi Arabia?

imam07:
Why talking like this. Can Iran even withstand Saudi Arabia?

Saudi Na Just consumer nation with lots of cash, Iran actually makes majority of its war machines. Do not under estimate modern day persia. War is ingrained in thier genes.


Besides the house of Saud is behaving way out of line these dayz, too selfish

grandlexuz:


Western Technology you say. You watch a lot of CNN and BBC. Iran is hard nut to crack. Trump and his allies all know that too well. Watch how the Iranian ship seized off Gibraltar be returned in days..

what is hard nut to break? U better don't say what u dont know. Do u realize d rate at which Iranian citizens are suffering because of d US sanctions. Very soon US will bring down the present government and install their choice.

Bigblogman:



We all know what happened in the late 80s just before the Iraq-Iran war, when Iran revolutionary army began a campaign of seizing and destroying foreign ships in the straits. Iran’s Navy was incapacitated by the US, Navy in the region.

The truth is that we all want someone tough to stand against the US but it comes at a great price. You may not know what the Iranian people are going through but their economy is the worst it has ever been in modern history, and this is just the beginning of more sanctions. We may see it as illegal or unfair, but it is a game of power and resistance. How long you are able to resist, and the nature of your opposition determines you survival. One thing is certain, there won’t be an all out war in the region but the pressure will continue even if Iran is willing to negotiate. Trump has a disdain for the leadership and Iran’s leadership hates and doesn’t trust the Trump admin. It’s a complex world in a funny circle.

Bro forget story. Iran lived 40 years under UN sanctions and survived it, in fact in those years they developed an efficient missile program. What makes you think they wouldn't be able to survive the US sanctions.
Don't tell me you're listening to those 'misyarns' from British and american media.

America and Britain will do nothing, absolutely nothing. All trump will do is to mouth off. In fact the guy is not even mouthing off again against foreign adversaries since his bluff has been called over and over again.

Don't get me wrong, it is true that in an all out war American and Britain will defeat Iran, but the question is at what cost? I tell you US is scared to death to face Iran in any war scenario in the middle east - reason, america cannot fathom the costs of such war. So they can only sanction and sanction.

Jiang:


Saudi Na Just consumer nation with lots of cash, Iran actually makes majority of its war machines. Do not under estimate modern day persia. War is ingrained in thier genes.


Besides the house of Saud is behaving way out of line these dayz, too selfish

Making noise does not make u a strong person. Iran is an empty barrel just like North Korea. In modern generation, boasting of and displaying of numbers of your fighting weapons can't win war for you but the country with strong economic wins the war. US places sanctions on Iran. Can Iran place sanctions on united state? Yes or no. Where is North Korea now? The guy have stopped his noise of recent. Don't let countries that make unnecessary noise deceive you. Modern war can't be won with physical weapons but economic weapon.

Iran is falling into the traps this The war-mongers are setting for her. If I were the Iran leader at this time I would read the handwriting on the wall but would he do that?? No, because he want to appear strong not knowing the enemies he have chosen are Genocidal blood thirsty monsters ready to burn her to the ground and suck her blood to the last drop.
I pity anyone who sees Iran action as sign of strength when in reality it is walking into a trap.