Iran Press/Iran news: The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in a phone call that unlike the illegal seizure of the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 by the UK, Iran’s act of detaining the British-flagged tanker Stena Impero was in response to a request by the Ports & Maritime Organisation Of Iran, since the vessel has violated maritime regulations, and must now undergo a legal process.
On the other side, Jeremy Hunt wrote in his Twitter account: “Just spoke to the Iranian FM Zarif and expressed extreme disappointment that having assured me last Saturday Iran wanted to deescalate situation but they have behaved in the opposite way. This has to be about actions, not words if we are to find a way through,” Iran Press reported.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) impounded the British oil tanker Stena Impero on Friday when it was passing through the Strait of Hormuz en route to Saudi Arabia "for failing to respect international maritime rules.”
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Ramezan confirmed the seized British tanker tried to enter the Strait of Hormuz with its communications transponders switched off -- contrary to maritime rules and regulations.
He said on Saturday that there was a real danger the oil tanker might have collided with ships and tankers moving in the opposite direction.
The oil tanker was trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz in waters normally used by commercial ships and tankers exiting the Strait, posing a significant risk of a collision with a commercial ship travelling in the opposite direction, Sharif noted.
According to the IRGC spokesman, Iran had no choice but to impound the tanker, for safety reasons, and also because the oil tanker failed to respond to repeated warnings and messages sent to it by the IRGC navy.
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