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| Deploying joint European fleet to Persian Gulf sends ‘hostile message’ – Tehran | Deploying joint European fleet to Persian Gulf sends ‘hostile message’ – Tehran |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| As Tehran and London are locked in a row over tanker seizures, Britain’s proposal to send an EU naval mission to the Persian Gulf will only increase the ongoing tensions, an Iranian government spokesperson warned. | As Tehran and London are locked in a row over tanker seizures, Britain’s proposal to send an EU naval mission to the Persian Gulf will only increase the ongoing tensions, an Iranian government spokesperson warned. |
| The idea of deploying a European fleet to patrol the Persian Gulf “sends a hostile message” and is “provocative and will increase tensions,” Ali Rabiei said on Sunday, as cited by Fars News Agency. | The idea of deploying a European fleet to patrol the Persian Gulf “sends a hostile message” and is “provocative and will increase tensions,” Ali Rabiei said on Sunday, as cited by Fars News Agency. |
| Security in the region should be maintained by the Gulf nations themselves, not foreign powers, he stressed. | Security in the region should be maintained by the Gulf nations themselves, not foreign powers, he stressed. |
| Tensions between Iran and the UK began escalating on July 4, when the British Royal Marines and Gibraltar police seized the Iranian oil supertanker Grace 1 off the southern coast of Spain. Officials in London said the ship was suspected of transporting oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions. Tehran denied any wrongdoing. | |
| On July 19, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz, which it said violated maritime rules. | |
| These incidents prompted Tehran and London to accuse each other of “piracy.” | |
| On Monday, UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt called for a combined European naval mission to be sent to ensure the safety of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean. | |
| German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said that Berlin will consider joining the mission once there is “clarity” over its form. France, Italy, and Denmark have also reportedly expressed interest in joining. | |
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