An Iranian supertanker hauling 130 million dollars (£107 million) worth of crude oil that the US suspects is tied to a sanctioned organisation has left Gibraltar and is heading east into the Mediterranean Sea.
An Iranian supertanker hauling 130 million dollars (£107m) worth of crude oil that the US suspects is tied to a sanctioned organisation has begun moving away from Gibraltar, marine traffic monitoring data showed late Sunday.
Britain is to join a US-led maritime security mission protecting international shipping in the Gulf, the Ministry of Defence has said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has seized an oil tanker carrying 700,000 litres of “smuggled fuel” in the Persian Gulf, according to Iranian media.
The US government has imposed financial sanctions on Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as part of its escalating campaign of pressure against the Islamic Republic.
Iran has dismissed US secretary of state Mike Pompeo’s offer to visit and address the Iranian people as a “hypocritical gesture”.
Concerns are growing for the crew of a British-flagged tanker seized by Iranian forces, with the ship’s owners calling for more action from the Government.
Iran has released a video of its forces warning Royal Navy warship HMS Montrose that the lives of its crew could be in danger.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister said discussions in Austria with representatives from nations that want to salvage an unravelling nuclear accord were “good”.
A second warship has arrived in the Strait of Hormuz to protect British ships as the Iranian seizure of a tanker goes into its second week.
Representatives from Europe, China and Russia, nations that are still committed to the Iran nuclear deal, plan to meet Iran’s representative in Vienna on Sunday to discuss how to salvage the unravelling accord.