Britain summons Iranian charge d'affaires over detention of its carrier

The British Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that it had summoned the charge d'affaires of Iran, against the backdrop of the detention of a British flag carrier in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian statements concerning the British oil tanker "Stena Impero" were conflicting, as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced, on Friday, the tanker was "confiscated" in the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that it "did not comply with the laws of navigation."

Following the statements, Tehran said it had detained the tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and then withdrew to the port of Bandar Abbas, "after being involved in a collision with an Iranian fishing boat."

"Experts from the Port and Maritime Administration in Hormuz have begun investigating the causes of the accident today," said The Director General of Ports and Maritime shipping in Hormuz province.

The official IRNA news agency reported that after the collision, the crew of the fishing boat contacted the tanker but did not receive a response. According to the laws, the ship contacted the port department in Hormuzgan.

British Defense Secretary Benny Murdont described the Iranians' detention of the British carrier as an "act of aggression" and said they were taken from the waters of the Sea of Oman.

The British government has also asked its ships to stay away from the Strait of Hormuz, a British government spokesman said in a statement: "We remain deeply concerned about Iran's unacceptable moves, which pose a clear challenge to international navigation. We advised British ships to stay out of the area temporarily."