Report: Iran Tries to Seize British Tanker in Persian Gulf

Five armed Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boats attempted to seize a British oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, CNN reported, amid heightened tensions in the region.

The British Heritage was crossing into the Strait of Hormuz area when the Iranian vessels approached it, demanding that the tanker change course and stop in nearby Iranian territorial waters, CNN said. A U.S. aircraft was overhead and recorded footage of the episode, the network said. The tanker, operated by BP Plc, is able to haul some 1 million barrels of oil.

The ship was being escorted from the rear by a U.K. Navy frigate, the HMS Montrose, which trained deck guns on the Iranian vessels and warned them to back away -- which they did --according to CNN.

Scheduled to sail from Iraq to Europe, the British Heritage had been kept inside the Persian Gulf in recent days over concerns Iran could seize it in a tit-for-tat response to British Royal Marines’s arrest near Gilbraltar last week of a vessel hauling the Islamic Republic’s crude.

Earlier: BP Oil Tanker Shelters in Persian Gulf, Fearing Iran Seizure

The incident comes after Iran said it had already begun enriching uranium beyond the cap set in a landmark 2015 nuclear accord with world powers, increasing pressure on European nations who want it to stick with the multi-party deal that’s been shunned by the Trump administration.

There are six vessels operating in the Persian Gulf registered to Britain, or a British Overseas Territory, and five operating under the British flag. In total, they have the capacity to transport almost 9 million barrels of crude.