“The Federal Government condemns the detention of two commercial vessels in the Gulf in the strongest possible terms. This is an unjustifiable intervention in civilian shipping that further exacerbates what is already a tense situation,” Germany’s foreign office said in a statement released Saturday.
France also condemned the seizure of the tankers and expressed “full solidarity” with the British government.
“Iran should respect the principles of freedom of navigation,” the French foreign ministry stated, while “strongly condemning it.”
Semi-official Fars News agency posted this video on July 20, 2019, it says shows Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces boarding the British-flagged Stena Impero ship in the Strait of Hormuz on July 19. Video: Fars News
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) detained two British tankers on Friday evening in the globally-strategic Strait of Hormuz. One was released shortly afterwards for allegedly "violating international maritime rules and regulations” less than a week after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called for retaliation against the British government for boarding and anchoring a tanker carrying Iranian oil to Syria — a violation of EU sanctions — near the Strait of Gibraltar on July 4.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif labeled “economic terrorism” by the United States as a “global menace” in a tweet on Saturday.
“In Iran’s engagement with the world, we neither call for the ouster of leaders, nor “bolster” them — decisions that are for the PEOPLE of a nation,” he added, while further reiterating his country’s stance that “Iran guarantees the security of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.”
“Unlike the piracy in the Strait of Gibraltar, our action in the Persian Gulf is to uphold int'l maritime rules…” he said in a tweet. “[The] UK must cease being an accessory to #EconomicTerrorism of the US.”
Following the incident on Friday, the British government called an urgent Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBR) meeting to coordinate an encompassing response.
“Yesterday's action in Gulf shows worrying signs Iran may be choosing a dangerous path of illegal and destabilising behaviour after Gibraltar’s LEGAL detention of oil bound for Syria,” UK Foreign Office Secretary Jeremy Hunt tweeted on Saturday. “As I said yesterday our reaction will be considered but robust. We have been trying to find a way to resolve Grace1 issue but WILL ensure the safety of our shipping.”
Persian Gulf tensions have peaked after the US government cancelled oil waivers given to eight main customers of Iranian oil in early May which propelled Iran to scale back on its commitments on two stages as part of the 2015 nuclear deal.
A series of incidents including the downing of US surveillance drone last month and the seizure in Gibraltar has escalated the tensions.
On Saturday, a top Iranian general revealed that the Iranian anti-aircraft missile systems almost shot down two American MQ-9 Reaper drones on May 26 and June 13 for venturing into the Iranian airspace.
Iran is under extreme pressure economically as its oil export almost has dropped to zero and is becoming increasingly difficult for Tehran to keep its shipping fleet running as countries around the world refuse to provide fuel due to the threat of sanctions by Washington.
Iran claimed on Saturday that the Stena Impero ship was detained because it was involved in an accident with a fishing boat, and then the British flagged tanker ignored distress calls from Iranian maritime authorities in nearby Hormozgan province.
Allahmorad Afifipour, the head of Ports and Maritime Organisations in Hormozgan province, said the ship was not carrying any load and the 23 crew members came mainly from India but also some were from Russia, Philippines and Lithuania.
“As of now for the safety of the ship … the 23 crew members are carrying out their duties on the ship,” Afifipour said. “If necessary and depending on the request of the judicial authorities, the crew may be taken in for technical interviews.”
Berlin is insisting for the second ship and seafarers to be released immediately.
“We call on Iran to release the second ship and its crew without delay,” Germany’s Federal Foreign Office said in its statement on Saturday. “A further escalation in the region would be very dangerous and would also undermine all ongoing efforts to find a way out of the current crisis.”
