Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced Friday (July 19th) that it had "confiscated" a British oil tanker, Stena Impero, in the Strait of Hormuz.
The building was boarded by the naval force of the Guardians for "non respect of the international maritime code", "at the request of the Port and Maritime Authority of the province of Hormozgan", indicates a press release on Sepahnews, the website Guardians of the Revolution.
The Stena Impero "was brought to the coast after its seizure and handed over to the Authority so that legal procedure and investigation can begin," add the Guardians, ideological army of the Islamic Republic in this brief statement .
The Swedish owner of the British-flagged tanker confirmed that he had lost contact with the ship after an "attack" in the Strait of Hormuz. "Our vessel, the Stena Impero, was attacked by small unidentified aircraft and helicopters passing through the Strait of Hormuz in international waters," Stena Bulk said in a statement. "We are currently unable to contact the ship sailing north towards Iran," she added.
Reprisals against the United Kingdom announced by Ayatollah Khamenei
The announcement of the seizure of the Stena Impero comes hours after the Supreme Court of Gibraltar decided to extend for 30 days the immobilization of the Iranian tanker Grace 1.
The vessel was arrested on 4 July by the authorities of Gibraltar, territory in the extreme south of Spain, who suspected it of delivering crude to Syria in violation of the sanctions of the European Union against Damascus.
Tehran has denied the accusation and denounced an act of "piracy" against the ship loaded with 2.1 million barrels of crude oil.
On Tuesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iran would not "let this malice go unanswered." "We will respond to it at the right time and place," he added without further details.
Washington denounced Friday night the "escalation of violence" of Iran. "This is the second time in just over a week that the United Kingdom has been targeted by the escalating violence of the Iranian regime," said Garett Marquis, spokesman for the US National Security Council. in a statement.
US President Donald Trump assured his side that the United States had been "informed" of the events in the Gulf and that they would "trade" and "work with the United Kingdom" on this.
With AFP