Monday 29 July 2019 - 17:09
Story Code : 355267
UK takes the bait on Iran and has to face the music: Analysis
The Trump administration then rallied the world to win Washingtons affection by upholding brutal international sanctions against the Islamic Republic as part of its misguided policy of maximum pressure on Iran in violation of the Iran deal.
The administrations strategy towards Iran, misguided as it is, must remain on track and roll on in a one-way direction which is maximum pressure via economic sanctions leading to hunger and civil unrest, then regime change in Iran.
Maximum pressure is the decided way for the United States. However, the misguided policy of maximum pressure on Iran is in a deadlock.
In this regard Washingtons special ally, Britain, has not been helping out.
Britain, which was a main broker and one of the signatories of the Iran deal but remains desperately short of friends due to Brexit, was forced to take the bait to restore its special relations status with the US during this testing time.
It orchestrated the Gibraltar tanker incident, seizing a supertanker carrying Iranian oil. The move escalated tensions with Iran to a new level.
UK's self-harming move
Tehran University Professor Mohammad Marandi told the "Iran Today" program that by orchestrating the Gibraltar tanker incident with Iran, Britain committed an act of self-harm.
The British are hurting themselves. Because, they are not in a position to hurt Iran. Their navy does not have the fire power that would raise any eyebrows in Tehran. They are only creating antagonism among Iranian population. So by obeying the US and hijacking Iranian ships, the British government is losing long-term credibility in this part of the world."
Meanwhile, Trumps promise to back Britain has scant practical value and carries inherent dangers, according to The Guardian.
Reaping the whirlwind
Iran recently stopped a British vessel Stena Impero after it breached international maritime laws by crossing a prohibited maritime passage in the Strait of Hormuz.
The vessel was transferred to Irans Bandar Abbas for legal proceedings.
This was quickly interpreted as a tit-for-tat response by Iran to the UK's impounding of the Iranian oil supertanker Grace 1 off the coast of Gibraltar, two weeks earlier.
Hossein Naqavi-Hosseini, an Iranian MP and a member of the parliaments national security and foreign policy committee, believes the British governments seizure of the Iranian oil tanker is quite different from Irans seizure of the British oil tanker.
These two issues have nothing to do with each other. We never refer to it as a counteraction, he said.
A British navy vessel patrols near supertanker Grace 1 off the coast of Gibraltar on July 6, 2019. (Photo by AFP)
Irans government still reserves the right to respond strongly to Britains illegal apprehension of the Iranian oil tanker, according to the lawmaker.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has the right to take appropriate action against UKs antagonism, Naqavi-Hosseini said.
Irans apprehension of the British oil tanker, he said, was due to the violation of the rules and regulations that pertain to the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz by the British oil tanker.
"Iran would have done the same thing if it was an American or Russian or any other countrys vessel. As a result, given the fact that in counteraction you dont have to resort to the international law, Iran still reserves the right to respond appropriately to the UK for its seizure of the Iranian oil tanker illegally.
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