Britain sends warship to Gulf

Britain has announced it will send a warship to the Persian Gulf, amid escalating tension with Iran after attempts to target a British tanker.

"As part of our long presence in the Gulf, the Royal Ship Duncan will be deployed in the region to ensure that our maritime security presence continues, while the Montrose cargo ship will depart from the mission for pre-planned maintenance and crew change," the British government said.

The government added, "This will ensure that the UK and international partners can continue to support the free movement of ships in this vital corridor."

For his part, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said that his country does not seek to escalate the situation with Iran, as tension between London and Tehran continues because of the Iranian tanker detained and the passage of ships across the Strait of Hormuz.

"This is a reaction from us to what is happening in a calculated and cautious way and to make it clear to Iran that we are not trying to escalate this situation," Hunt told Sky News.

The HMS Duncan is due to arrive in the Arabian Gulf in the coming days, after it recently completed training for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the Black Sea, the Sky News correspondent said.

Britain has sent a ship and four anti-landmines to be permanently stationed in the region after Iran threatened to target British ships over the arrest of an Iranian oil tanker off the coast of Gibraltar last week.

London said three Iranian ships tried to intercept a tanker owned by it as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz, which controls the flow of oil from the Middle East to the world, but withdrew after warnings from the frigate Montrose.
US President Donald Trump's candidate for the Joint Chiefs of Staff said what happened was apparently an attempt to cut off a small navy to "seize" a British merchant ship.
General Mark Millie, the current chief of staff of the US Army and a candidate for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the freedom of navigation is a basic principle and that escorting naval naval vessels to commercial vessels is a matter of research with the Allies and will see developments in the coming weeks.
The United States accuses Iran of being behind a series of attacks on shipping since mid-May in the world's most important shipping artery, charges Tehran rejects, but raised fears of a war between the two old adversaries after Iran dropped an American marlin, prompting Trump To order air strikes in response to cancel them before implementation in minutes.