London Saturday advised British ships to avoid the Strait of Hormuz for “an interim period” following Iran’s seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker.
“We remain deeply concerned about Iran’s unacceptable actions which represent a clear challenge to international freedom of navigation,” a government spokeswoman said following an overnight meeting of the government’s COBRA emergencies committee to discuss the crisis.
“We have advised UK shipping to stay out of the area for an interim period.”
She noted comments by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt earlier that “there will be serious consequences if the situation is not resolved”.
She added that there will be further meetings over the weekend and “we remain in close contact with our international partners”.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Friday they had seized a British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz for breaking international maritime rules.
The Stena Impero tanker “was confiscated… for failing to respect international maritime rules,” the Guards’ official website Sepahnews said.
The tanker “was led to the shore and handed over to the organization to go through the legal procedure and required investigations,” it said.
Source: AFP
