Five gunboats believed to belong to Iranian Revolutionary Guards have tried to seize a British oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, US officials claim.
The Iranian boats withdrew only after being warned off by a British warship on Wednesday.
US aircraft reportedly observed and recorded the apparent attempted hijack. Britain’s Ministry of Defence had no immediate comment.
The incident occurred almost a week after British Royal Marines boarded an Iranian tanker, Grace 1, off Gibraltar and seized it on suspicion it was violating the European Union’s sanctions by shipping about 2 million barrels of crude oil to Syria.
Earlier on Thursday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Britain would face “consequences” over the seizure of the Iranian tanker.
An Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander added his own threats on Twitter:
“If Britain does not release the Iranian oil tanker, it is the authorities’ duty to seize a British oil tanker,” Mohsen Rezai wrote.
The US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the incident happened as the British boat, British Heritage, was at the northern entrance of the Strait of Hormuz.
“The Royal Navy HMS Montrose, which was also there, pointed its guns at the boats and warned them over radio, at which point they dispersed,” one of the officials said.
“It was harassment and an attempt to interfere with the passage,” the other official said.
Tensions between Iran and the US and its allies have risen sharply since Washington stepped up economic sanctions against Iran and moved to bring the country’s oil exports to zero as part of a “maximum pressure” policy to make Iran halt actions that it said undermined regional security.
Iran has responded to the sanctions by starting to breach limits put on its nuclear activities under a 2015 deal with world powers.
Several oil tankers were attacked in waters near Iran’s southern coast in May and June, for which the US blamed Iran. Tehran has denied any involvement.
Last month, Iran shot down a US drone near the Strait of Hormuz, prompting US President Donald Trump to order retaliatory air strikes, only to call them off.
-with AAP
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