Britain's detention of an Iranian oil tanker increases the likelihood of confrontation

The tension between Iran and Britain escalated after British naval forces, in cooperation with the Gibraltar authorities, detained the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 on July 4, 2019, especially after the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador to inform him of its official protest against this. The action, in parallel with threats by more than one Iranian official to reciprocate by the detention of a British tanker in the Gulf. Undoubtedly, this step taken by London is inseparable from all the developments witnessed by the regional files, which are of particular interest to it during the current phase, especially the Syrian and nuclear issues.

Strict positions

In this context, Iran's reaction to the recent British move highlights the repercussions of Iran's activities and policies in the region, which threaten its security and stability, especially with regard to the security of maritime navigation in the Gulf, which has faced serious challenges. In the recent period, because of the sabotage operations targeting several freighters and carriers. Iran sought to warn that it could make a similar move if Britain did not release the Iranian oil carrier.

It was clear that the Iranian regime had tried to suggest that this step could be taken through a "tweet" attributed to the Secretary of the Expediency Council, Muhsen Rezaei, as this serves his "division of roles" policy, and assigns some of his close associates to make statements Or threats, and at the same time to suggest that this does not reflect the official policy of the State.

Several considerations

Britain's decision to take that step, in three main considerations, can be explained as follows:

1. Strong messages

It seems that Britain sought - through that move - to send warning messages to Iran that the efforts of European countries to enhance the chances of continuing the nuclear agreement by continuing trade with Iran under the so-called "Instex mechanism" does not mean that those States will ignore Iran's subversive activities in the region and seek to circumvent US and international sanctions imposed on it and other allied parties.

It seems that the European countries are realizing that their pursuit of some Iranian demands for the continuation of bilateral relations could send the wrong messages to Iran, in an attempt to exert maximum pressure on them by continuing to take steps to reduce the level of their commitments in the Agreement Nuclear weapons, especially with regard to bypassing the 3.67 percent low-enriched uranium, as stipulated in the nuclear agreement, up to 300 kg, or related to raising the level of enrichment itself to more than 3.67%, a move already taken by Tehran on July 7, What the spokesman said Atomic Energy Agency, Behruz Kamalundi.

Threats

Recently, Iran has already tried to threaten the European countries by failing to obtain economic benefits from the nuclear deal, which could prompt it to reactivate its nuclear program in a way that would increase the likelihood of a military confrontation in the region. This is paralleled by warnings that the collapse of the nuclear deal, the lifting of the sanctions imposed on it, and perhaps the eventual use of the military option, could expose European countries to new waves of refugees as well as the smuggling of large quantities of drugs.

On June 10, Iran's anti-drug police chief Mohamed Masoud Zahedian waved "the dumping of drugs into Europe if the tightening of sanctions prevents the continuation of aid to Iran in the fight against drug trafficking."

Therefore, Britain has been keen - in the past - to confirm its interest in the need to take action to deal with threats to navigation security in the region, and to link the activities of Iran and those threats, where Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt, on June 16, Iran is behind the attacks on the oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. "

2 - Continuing disagreement

British officials have emphasized that the main reason for the seizure of the oil tanker, which is suspected of carrying oil to Syria, is to "deprive the Syrian regime of oil resources to suppress the Syrians", especially in the light of the sanctions imposed by the European Union since 2011 on oil sales to Syria.

Here, London seeks to emphasize that changing the balance of power within Syria in favor of the Syrian regime, because of the military support provided by Russia and Iran and its loyalist militias, does not mean that European countries can make a significant change in their policy towards it.

This, in turn, is inseparable from the current escalation with Iran over the nuclear agreement, especially as the European countries seek to prove that their quest to support the continuation of the nuclear agreement does not mean that they will continue to overlook the role played by Iran in the regional arena, And Yemen, as well as other controversial issues, particularly the ballistic missile program, as part of its response to Iran's pursuit of a so-called "separation of tracks" policy, which is based on refusing to negotiate other issues such as the regional role and the missile program, Nuclear and relationship Bilateral v.

Open files

Although Britain was one of the main European countries, which sought to prevent the escalation of tension with Tehran in the past, this does not exclude that there are many controversial issues still impose strong effects on British policy towards relations with Iran in general, Who were arrested in April 2016 and sentenced to five years in prison for participating in an attempt to overthrow the regime, espionage and demonstration.

British officials have repeatedly tried to settle the issue with the Iranian authorities. Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited Iran specifically for this purpose in December 2017. However, all efforts made in this context failed to achieve any positive results. At the time, Johnson said that Ratcliffe was training journalists, almost bringing the latter to new problems with the Iranian authorities, such that Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt, on March 8, 2019, was granted diplomatic protection, turning the case into a dispute International relations between Tehran and London.

In the light of this, it can be said that the escalation will be the main address of the relations between Iran and European countries, after Iran in turn tried to neutralize the tension with the United States from those relations during the past period, because of the accumulation of outstanding files between the parties, Regional role, missile program, dual nationality, etc.

• Iran's growing warnings that the collapse of the nuclear deal, the lifting of sanctions on it and perhaps the eventual military option could bring European countries to new waves of refugees as well as the smuggling of large quantities of drugs.

• The escalation will be the main address of the relations between Iran and the European countries, after Iran in turn tried to neutralize the tension with the United States from those relations, during the last period, because of the accumulation of outstanding files between the parties, whether on the nuclear agreement or regional role or missile program or Dual nationality, or other.