Iran captures UK tanker: Hunt says there will be ‘serious consequences’ if Revolutionary Guard does not return control of British ship

As it happened

Map: Iranian authorities 'seize British tanker'

Iran has seized a British tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the tanker “Impero Stena” was seized Friday for “non-compliance with international maritime laws and regulations”.

UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has warned “if this situation is not resolved quickly there will be serious consequences”.

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Key Points

• Iran seizes British ship in Strait of Hormuz
• Second oil tanker turns sharply north towards Iran coast
• The alleged route of Stena Impero

[19 July 2019 21:56 · Harry.Cockburn]

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have not captured the British-operated, Liberian-flagged ship Mesdar in the Gulf, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, quoting regional military sources."Despite reports, the ship has not been seized ... and was allowed to continue its course after being warned about safety issues by Iranian forces," the report said.Iran said earlier it had seized another tanker, the British-flagged Stena Impero.

Britain's foreign minister said two vessels had been seized and described the capture of both as unacceptable.

[19 July 2019 22:00 · Harry.Cockburn]

Donald Trump says the US will be working with the UK after the actions of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Strait of Hormuz

[19 July 2019 22:02 · Harry.Cockburn]

The crew of the Liberian-registered Mesdar tanker seized in the Persian Gulf are "safe and well" and can continue their voyage after the ship was boarded  by armed guards on Friday, manager Norbulk Shipping UK said.

[19 July 2019 22:07 · Harry.Cockburn]

Lord West, a retired admiral of the Royal Navy, has accused Tehran of escalating tensions in the Gulf and said if Iranian Revolutionary Guard ships attacked British vessels they should be sunk.

He told Sky News: "They are the ones who escalated by attacking one of our merchant ships, so if they attack one of our merchant ships then they get their comeuppance."

Lord West said he supported "de-escalation" in the region and called for new talks between the UK, Iran and US over the nuclear deal that US President Donald Trump had pulled out from.

"But for the Iranians to use that ... to come and attack our ships, I think, is not appropriate and we've got to look after our ships, but we mustn't let them just steam around unprotected in what are very dangerous waters."

He said Tory leadership hopefuls Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt were "deluding themselves" if they were not to back the US in a war against Iran.

"It would be a disaster, we do not want a war, but we will be tied into it," Lord West said.

[19 July 2019 22:10 · Harry.Cockburn]

The operator of the Mesdar tanker, Glasgow-based Norbulk Shipping UK, said communication had been re-established with the ship after it was boarded by armed guards at around 5.30pm on Friday.

A statement said: "Communication has been re-established with the vessel and Master confirmed that the armed guards have left and the vessel is free to continue the voyage. All crew are safe and well."

[19 July 2019 22:22 · Harry.Cockburn]

Donald Trump says Iran is "nothing but trouble" - video:

[19 July 2019 22:24 · Harry.Cockburn]

Here's Reuters latest update on the state of the two ships:

The oil tanker Mesdar, which had turned in the direction of Iran, was boarded by armed personnel at approximately 16.30GMT but they have now left and the vessel has resumed its voyage, its British operator said on Friday.

Britain said the Mesdar and another tanker, the Stena Impero, had been seized by Iran, making the announcement after both suddenly took up a course towards the Iranian coast.

But an Iranian news agency said the Mesdar had not been seized but had been issued a warning. Its manager Norbulk Shipping said the Liberian-registered vessel had been boarded by armed personnel and it was for a while unable to contact the vessel.

It later added: "Communication has been re-established with the vessel and Master confirmed that the armed guards have left and the vessel is free to continue the voyage. All crew are safe and well."

[19 July 2019 22:32 · Harry.Cockburn]

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has told Sky News there will be “consequences” if Iran does not return control of the British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero

[19 July 2019 22:49 · Harry.Cockburn]

Jeremy Hunt said there would be "serious consequences" if the situation is not resolved quickly.

Speaking to Sky News he said: "We will respond in a way that is considered robust and we are absolutely clear that if this situation is not resolved quickly there will be serious consequences."

Asked if he could rule out military intervention, Mr Hunt said: "We're not looking at military options - we're looking at a diplomatic way to resolve the situation - but we are very clear that it must be resolved.

"Freedom of navigation in the Gulf is absolutely essential. If that freedom of navigation is restricted, Iran is the biggest loser and so it is in their interest to resolve this situation as quickly as possible and we will do everything we can to do that."

[19 July 2019 22:57 · Harry.Cockburn]

Jeremy Hunt said the Stena Impero was surrounded by four vessels and a helicopter, and is heading into Iranian waters.

The second ship - the Mesdar - was surrounded by 10 speedboats, Mr Hunt told Sky, though said it was "not clear yet" whether it had changed course.

He said he had spoken to US secretary of state Mike Pompeo this evening about the situation and had tried to speak to Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif but he is on a plane.

“I will speak to him as soon as I can”, Mr Hunt said.