British composure faces the mullahs’ boastings

Eslam Mohamed

In a position contradicting the recent announcement by Iranian media that London is gasping behind Tehran to allow it to trade the tankers held by both countries, new British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Monday, July 29 demanded the release of the British tanker held by Tehran, stressing there would be no exchange of vessels.

British initiative with US support

“This is not about a kind of barter, but a commitment to international law and the rules of international law, and that is what we will insist on,” he said, adding that the British initiative to create a European alliance to protect the Strait of Hormuz is supported by the United States.

Britain has decided to send new troops to its military base in Bahrain to help boost maritime protection of ships in the Gulf.

The move came after London announced the arrival of the warship HMS Duncan to the Gulf to join the HMS Montrose on the mission of securing the passage of British merchant ships through the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

The action follows Iran’s seizure of British tanker Stena Impero on January 19 in retaliation for Britain’s extension of the detention of the Iranian ship Grace 1 on the same day.

Vienna meeting

The Iranian Foreign Ministry revealed that, during the visit of Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Oman’s minister responsible for foreign affairs, Iran rejected the subject of the Iranian oil tanker, stressing that the tensions in the region are caused by foreign interference and foreign military presence.

On Sunday, Britain and the rest of the signatories to the nuclear deal met to discuss ways to preserve it after Iran’s commitments were reduced, but to no avail. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi confirmed Tehran would decide another step in reducing its obligations under the nuclear deal after yesterday’s meeting.

“The Vienna meeting did not give any guarantees yesterday,” Mousavi told a news conference.

He stated that the emergency meeting in Vienna can be considered a step forward, but Tehran does not hold hope for the Europeans, adding that Iran does not pay attention to European statements but awaits action.

“Iran’s diplomatic activities are aimed at maintaining the nuclear agreement,” Mousavi said, adding that consultations to maintain the nuclear deal for Iran or the other side would be useful and would continue.

Mousavi also stressed that it is his country that oversees the security of the Strait of Hormuz in the region.

Britain in a maritime dilemma

The dispatch of British troops to the Gulf is proof that Britain has a problem with expanding its naval force because there has been a significant reduction in these forces in the last 30 years, said Mohammed al-Kanani, a researcher in the military studies program at the Arab Forum for Iranian Policy Analysis. He added that more than half of the British fleet is currently being maintained and the other half cannot carry out the required tasks, according to the statements of British politicians themselves, so the UK is trying to remedy that today and benefit from its base in Bahrain, and it also signed a joint defense agreement with Oman.

Britain is in dire need of increasing its forces in the Gulf, especially after US President Donald Trump declared that each country must protect its own interests and at its own expense, Kanani said, adding that the British move is therefore normal and logical, and the country is expected to increase the number of naval forces after the completion of its fleet’s maintenance.

Kanani pointed out that the British measures are defensive and unlikely to start military action in the short term.

He added that if the reactor started operation and was destroyed, a large disaster would occur in the region because of radioactive leakage, as happened in Chernobyl in Ukraine, because it contains rods for nuclear fuel. That is why when Israel previously destroyed the Iraqi reactor, it did so while the reactor was still in the initial stages, and the nuclear fuel had not come from France.