Washington has weighed into the ongoing crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, with White House National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis saying the US is aware of what is happening in the area. He said: “We are aware of reports that Iranian forces seized a British oil tanker. The US will continue to work with our allies and partners to defend our security and interests against Iran’s malign behaviour.”
And US President Donald Trump announced the US will “work” with the Britain despite not having a “written agreement” with its historical ally.
He told reporters outside the White House: “We have a very close alliance with the UK and we have always had. We have heard what happened.
“The US has very few tankers going in because we are using our own energy now.
“We made a lot of progress over the last two and a half years, so we don’t have a lot of tankers there but we have a lot of war ships there.
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Read more: British oil tanker seized by Iran – emergency Cobra meeting called
“And we will talk to the UK and we have no written agreement but we have an agreement, they have been a great ally of us so…we have heard about it, we have heard about one and we have heard about two, so we will work with the UK.
“They will have a new Prime Minister soon, which is a good thing, we don’t have a written agreement but we have an agreement which I think is long-standing.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said earlier today to have seized the Stena Impero while it was crossing the Strait, citing international maritime law for their actions.
The ship’s owners issued a statement, saying that at 3pm GMT (7pm local time) the vessel had been “approached by unidentified small crafts and a helicopter during transit of the Strait of Hormuz”.
In that moment, the vessel was in international waters, the statement said.
Shortly afterwards, the Stena Impero suddenly veered off course and entered Iranian waters.
Owners Stena Bulk and ship’s managers Northern Marine added: “We are presently unable to contact the vessel which is now heading north towards Iran.”
The US reaction to Iran’s action come as Saudi Almarsd Online Newspaper reported a second oil tanker had been seized today.
The British-operated Liberian-flagged Mesdar turned sharply north towards Iran’s coast at approximately 4pm GMT (8pm local time) after passing westward through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf, according to Refinitiv tracking data.
Nor the Iranian Guards or the operator of the second tanker have released a statement about what had prompted the change in direction along the vital international oil shipping route.
Saudi Almarsd Online Newspaper tweeted: “Iran’s Revolutionary Guard detains a second oil tanker operated by a British company.”
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