Iran Revolutionary Guards Deny Trying to Capture British Tanker

Claims of a confrontation near the Strait of Hormuz involving the British Heritage oil tanker are denied by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who issued a statement, saying that there “has been no encounter with foreign ships including English ships.“

The British government suggested the HMS Montrose, a frigate, was present and verbally warned off the Iranian boats, which was successful. British officials say they do not intend to escalate tensions, nor do they intend to increase escorts of ships in the future.

US officials aren’t going to miss any chance to escalate against Iran, however, with the Pentagon saying they’re in the process of discussing the exact nature, but that they intend to provide military escorts for commercial shipping.

This is being pushed despite President Trump expressing opposition to leaving such military escorts up to the United States, and calling on other nations to do the escorting instead.

Despite hype over the British Heritage confrontation, it’s not clear what really happened. Initial claims were that the HMS Montrose chased off at least five Iranian boats, and turned its guns on them. Now, officials say there were just three boats, and a verbal warning was all it took. Either way, Britain doesn’t see this as a major issue.