As Tehran and London trade accusations over the seized tankers, Iran's ambassador in London warns that certain forces in the UK aim to use the crisis to boost tensions even further.See also:
Ramping up pressure would be dangerous and "unwise," Hamid Hamid Baeidinejad warned in a tweet on his personal account on Sunday.
That's why it's key now for the UK government to "contain those domestic political forces who want to escalate existing tension between Iran and the UK well beyond the issue of ships."
That said, Tehran is "firm and ready for different scenarios," Baeidinejad said.
I recently learned, from a source close to The New Yorker magazine, that its editor, David Remnick, has commissioned a hit piece against me for the explicit purpose of silencing my defense of President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu, and the State of Israel. Remnick despises Trump and Netanyahu, and is well known for his strong anti-Israel bias. Remnick explicitly told people that I must be silenced because mine has been the most persuasive voice in favor of what Remnick feels pose dangers to values he holds dear, and that he will use the credibility of The New Yorker to accomplish this goal.This doesn't seem very plausible. Remnick can be very critical of Israel but he is a liberal Zionist. Connie Bruck is said to be the reporter on the case and though she has a pretty good track record (exposing Adelson) she is married to an Israel devotee, former Rep. Mel Levine.
"We didn't and still don't create anything new, let alone something great. Just 16 years after the Great Patriotic War, USSR flew a man into space - a global event. Ukraine has been independent for 28 years, and what have we achieved? We destroyed the country. There was a great industrial base, the best human resources, (we were) one of the top industrial powers in the world. Ukraine was among the top ten. And what did we do with it?At the same time, all they do in Kiev is constantly babble about banning the Russian language, fighting the communist past, "regaining" Donbass and so on. And as soon as Ukraine achieves total Ukrainization, then "prosperity" will begin, Semchenko added sarcastically.
Even Somalia is better than Ukraine. Last year, the Somali delegation was allowed to vote at the World Health Organization, but the Ukrainian delegation wasn't, because the Somali delegation paid off debts to WHO, and the Ukrainian delegation did not. Why does the WHO need Ukraine, with its record-breaking death rates, while Somalia now has mortality rates lower than in Ukraine? 'Excellent' achievements," Semchenko noted bitterly.
The IRGC intervened because the ship "got involved in an accident with an Iranian fishing boat" and did not respond to its "distress call," the director of ports and maritime affairs of Iran's southern Hormozgan province, Allahmorad Afifipour, said.
The tanker was taken to the port city of Bandar Abbas and "all of its 23 crew members will remain on the ship until the probe is over," the official stated.
A second British-owned tanker may have been seized by Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz, in what appears to be retaliation for the British capture of an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar earlier this month.In response the UK issued this statement:
The Liberian-flagged ship Mesdar abruptly changed course and headed for the Iranian mainland on Friday evening. The ship is owned by Norbulk Shipping UK and was bound for Ras Tanura in Saudi Arabia.
Tehran has not officially claimed the seizure of the Mesdar, unlike the earlier capture of the Stena Impero. That tanker was bound for the Saudi port of Al Jubail, but was approached by IRGC vessels and redirected to the island of Qeshm, Iranian media said.
Stena Bulk, the company owning the vessel said that it was "approached by unidentified small crafts and a helicopter" before changing course. The IRGC's Public Relations Department said that the ship was "confiscated" over its failure "to respect international maritime rules."
Meanwhile, the company said it could not presently contact its vessel with 23 crew members on board. The British authorities said that they are assessing the situation while the UK Chamber of Shipping called for "further protection for the merchant vessels."
The UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has confirmed the seizure of two vessels by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. He also said London is seeking to secure their release and called for the freedom of navigation in the strait.Analysts feel Iran had to make a move in response to the combination of the UK's hijacking of the Grace 1, the pressure of American sanction and European inaction:
"I'm extremely concerned by the seizure of two naval vessels by Iranian authorities in the Strait of Hormuz," Hunt told journalists, adding that he would soon attend the emergency cabinet meeting aimed at looking for ways to "swiftly secure the release of the two vessels."
"These seizures are unacceptable. It is essential that freedom of navigation is maintained and that all ships can move safely and freely in the region."
The seizure of British-owned oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz is the signal that Iran's patience has run out, worn thin by European inaction over a year after the US pullout from the nuclear deal, analysts have told RT.Britain advised its commercial assets to avoid the Strait for now. According to the IRGC, a British warship tried to stop Iran from seizing the tanker:
Prior to May this year, Iran exercised extreme restraint despite the US sanctions and its frustration with Europe's failure to offset the losses they caused, Hamed Mousavi, political science professor at the university of Tehran, said.
Eventually, Iran's patience ran out, but not before the US "made sure that Iran has very few options remaining."
"For a year Tehran was not doing anything and was abiding by the nuclear deal to the letter in the hopes that the Europeans would come up with a form of a mechanism... that would allow Iran to circumvent the US sanctions," Mousavi said.
By refusing to hold back any longer, Iran wants to send a clear signal to the UK, "but especially to the Americans," that Tehran has "the means and the power to respond to pressure and to aggression." Iran's actions are also a response to the US military build-up at its Middle East doorstep, Mousavi said.
Iranian journalist and Middle East expert Abbas Aslani agreed that the US withdrawal was what triggered the crisis along with the "inaction of the Europeans."
It's "a sure bet" that the ships were seized in retaliation to the UK's behavior, Kevin Afrasiabi, a former adviser to Iran's nuclear negotiating team told RT. Afrasiabi said he believes the British government could have easily avoided inflaming the standoff with Iran if it released the Iranian oil tanker it seized two weeks ago, thus "foolishly inserting itself in the crisis between Iran and Washington."
Instead of putting an end to the crisis, the UK "decided to continue to appease Washington war-mongers by aiding an illegal oil embargo imposed on Iran unilaterally by the US" and militarizing the Gulf.
London "thinks it can just trample on the rights of third world nations with impunity and expect the other side to lie down and die," Afrasiabi said - but that "will not happen with Iran." On the other hand, if the UK takes a step back now and releases the tanker, the ex-adviser believes Iran will reciprocate.
A Royal Navy warship escorting the Stena Impero tanker before its Friday detention by the IRGC attempted to put up "resistance and interference" to stop the Iranian military from bringing the tanker to shore, IRGC spokesman Brig. Gen. Ramezan Sharif has said, Fars News Agency has reported.
The IRGC spokesman alleged that the Royal Navy ship intervened to try to stop Iran's naval commandos, including by flying helicopters in the vicinity.
Sharif emphasized that the IRGC's actions during Friday's incident were in strict accordance with international maritime laws governing behaviour in the Persian Gulf and the Strait fo Hormuz. According to the spokesman, 'some foreign vessels' failed to comply with these regulations, engaging in behaviour which he described as 'arrogant, provocative and threatening.'
The UK's Ministry of Defence declined to comment to Reuters on the veracity of the IRGC spokesman's allegations.
Comment: Since when has Israel ever 'had respect' for Congress or worried about their foreign relations, save for Russia? They treat it as their perpetual piggy bank. One wonders if Israel would accord the same waiver to say, Jeremy Corbyn? What Bibi hopes to accomplish by permitting the visit is a mystery for now.