Britain on Monday said it was planning a European-led protection force for shipping in the Gulf after Iran seized a British-flagged vessel in what London said was an act of “state piracy”.
“Under international law Iran had no right to obstruct the ship’s passage - let alone board her. It was therefore an act of state piracy,” Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt told parliament. “We will now seek to put together a European-led maritime protection mission to support safe passage of both crew and cargo in this vital region.”
"We will seek to establish this mission as quickly as possible," he added, while at the same time emphasizing that Britain did not want confrontation.
Britain has had constructive discussions with a number of countries in the last 48 hours over the mission, he revealed.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized the Stena Impero in the Strait on Friday. British Royal Marines seized an Iranian tanker off the coast of Gibraltar two weeks ago.
Britain will now ask all British-flagged ships to give the government notice of intentions to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Hunt explained.
“We will then advise them as to the safest way to transit, which may involve traveling in convoy,” he said, adding that Britain would also strengthen measures to protect ships flying the flags of other countries but which had British crew.
“It is of course not possible for the Royal Navy to provide escorts for every single ship or indeed eliminate all risks of piracy,” he said.
“But the risks can be substantially reduced if commercial shipping companies cooperate fully with instructions from the Department of Transport, which we strongly encourage them to do.”
Hunt also said he would discuss how this would complement US proposals in the area but that Britain would not join the US plan as it wanted to preserve the nuclear deal.
“It will not be part of the US maximum pressure policy on Iran because we remain committed to preserving the Iran nuclear agreement,” he stated.
Tehran’s capture of the vessel came two weeks after British authorities seized an Iranian tanker off its overseas territory of Gibraltar on suspicion of breaching EU sanctions against Syria against a backdrop of brinkmanship between Washington and Tehran.
Iran impounded the tanker after claiming it failed to respond to distress calls and turned off its transponder after hitting a fishing boat.
However, Britain has said there was no evidence of a collision and said the vessel was in Omani waters, with its transponder switched on.
Hunt spoke to his French and German counterparts on Sunday.
The EU has already expressed its "deep concern" at the move, and on Monday, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said: "We don't want any further escalation."
