AFP :
British Prime Minister Theresa May convened an emergency meeting of ministers and security officials on Monday to discuss how to respond after Iran seized a UK-flagged tanker in the Gulf.
In a dramatic escalation of tensions, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized the Stena Impero on Friday in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
It came two weeks after British authorities seized an Iranian tanker off Gibraltar on suspicion of breaching sanctions against Syria, and against a backdrop of brinkmanship between Washington and Tehran.
The government’s emergency Cobra committee met over the weekend and May was to chair another meeting on Monday, while Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is later expected to update parliament.
The EU has condemned Iran’s action and Hunt spoke to his French and German counterparts on Sunday.
They agreed that “safe passage for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is a top priority for European nations, while avoiding any possible escalation in the region”, a British statement said.
Tensions in the Gulf have ramped up since May, when the US boosted its military presence in response to what it called indications of a “credible threat” from Iran.
The British government had warned its ships to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for about a third of the world’s sea-borne oil.
But questions are being asked in London about why it was not more proactive in protecting ships after the Gibraltar incident, which provoked fury in Tehran.
The standoff comes at a sensitive time for Britain, with May due to resign on Wednesday over her Brexit strategy, with former foreign minister Boris Johnson the overwhelming favourite to replace her.
Junior defence minister Tobias Ellwood said Sunday that Britain would be looking “at a series of options” on how to respond to Iran’s actions.
Iranian authorities said they detained Stena Impero after the tanker failed to respond to distress calls and turned off its transponder after hitting a fishing boat.
