London: A UK government spokesman has said that Iranian boats tried to intercept a British oil tanker near the Gulf region, before being driven off by a Royal Navy ship, the media reported on Thursday.
On Wednesday, HMS Montrose positioned itself between the three boats and the tanker British Heritage before issuing verbal warnings to the Iranian vessels, the BBC quoted the spokesman as saying.
He described the Iranians' actions as "contrary to international law".
According to US media reports citing American officials, boats believed to belong to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps approached the British Heritage tanker as it was moving out of the Gulf into the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, Iran also summoned the British ambassador in Tehran to complain about what it said was a "form of piracy".
Earlier on Wednesday Iranian President Hassan Rouhani mocked the UK, calling it "scared" and "hopeless" for using Royal Navy warships to shadow a British tanker in the Gulf.
HMS Montrose had shadowed British tanker the Pacific Voyager for some of the way through the Strait of Hormuz, but that journey passed without incident.
This latest row comes at a time of escalating tensions between the US and Iran, the BBC said.
US President Donald Trump's administration - which has pulled out of an international agreement on Tehran's nuclear programme - has reinforced punishing sanctions against Iran.
Iranian boats tried to intercept British tanker: UK
IANS
Updated at:
11 Jul 2019 02:41 PM (IST)
On Wednesday, HMS Montrose positioned itself between the three boats and the tanker British Heritage before issuing verbal warnings to the Iranian vessels, the BBC quoted the spokesman as saying.
An October 2005 handout photo released in London on July 11, 2019, shows the British Royal Navy's HMS Montrose, a Type 23 Frigate, performing turns during excercise "Marstrike 05", off the coast of Oman. - Britain said on July 11, 2019, that Iranian military vessels tried to "impede the passage" of UK oil tanker "British Heritage", but were warned off by British warship HMS Montose in a dramatic escalation of tensions with Tehran in the Gulf. The incident in the narrow but busy Strait of Hormuz occurred on Wednesday after President Donald Trump ratched up his own administration's pressure even further by warning that sanctions against the Islamic Republic would be "increased substantially" soon. (Photo by HO / MOD / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT " AFP PHOTO / CROWN COPYRIGHT 2019 " - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - NO ARCHIVE - TO BE USED WITHIN 2 DAYS FROM JULY 11, 2019 (48 HOURS), EXCEPT FOR MAGAZINES WHICH CAN PRINT THE PICTURE WHEN FIRST REPORTING ON THE EVENT /
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