IRAN FEARS
Royal Navy sends Marines to the Gulf amid threat of war after ‘Iranian attack’ on tankers
THE ROYAL Navy is set to send Marines to the Persian Gulf amid rising tensions with Iran after an attack on two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
Britain has backed the US in saying that Iran was behind the attacks, adding it was "almost certain" the country was responsible.
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Elite soldiers from 42 Commando based near Plymouth are set to be deployed in a training exercise drawn up before the attacks on one Norwegian and one Japanese tanker.
It will operate from Royal Navy ships patrolling the region from Britain's £40m naval base in Bahrain, the .
The strikes have seen an escalation in tensions between the US and Iran.
The US military also claims Iran fired at a US drone before the tanker attacks.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has warned of 'potentially catastrophic' consequences if it can be proved Iran was behind the blasts.
IRAN DENIES INVOLVEMENT
Iran has denied any involvement in the attacks.
President Donald Trump told Fox News that Iran "did do it".
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the attacks a "threat to international peace" and "an unacceptable escalation of tension by Iran".
The tankers were hit within an hour of each other on Thursday on a vital oil shipping route 25 miles from the Iranian coast, forcing all 44 crew to abandon ship.
Amid fears of escalating tensions in the region, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "Our own [independent] assessment leads us to conclude that responsibility for the attacks almost certainly lies with Iran."
THE TWO TANKERS
- Front Altair was built in 2016 and is flagged to the Marshall Islands
- It is owned by Norwegian company Frontline and is operated by Dubai-based International Tanker Management
- The ship was carrying 75,000 tonnes of naphtha, a petrochemical product, worth $30m when it was attacked
- It was carrying 23 crew members who were all rescued
- The vessel can carry up to 62,849 tonnes of cargo
- It weighs a staggering 109,894 tonnes
- Kokuka Courageous was built in 2010 and is flagged to Panama
- It is owned by Japanese firm Kokuka Sangyo and is operated by BSM Ship Management
- The ship was carrying 25,000 tonnes of methanol when it was attacked
- 21 sailors on board were rescued. One suffered minor injuries
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Foreign Office sources denied a report by the official Iranian news agency, IRNA, that the British ambassador in Tehran had be summoned to a meeting with a senior Iranian diplomat to complain at Britain's support for the US position.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn blamed Britain and the United States for stoking conflict with Iran.
The US reimposed sanctions on Iran last year, which is hitting the country's economy, after pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal.
US and Iran - a troubled history
- Before the 1979 Iranian revolution, Iran was one of America's biggest allies in the Middle East and was led by the US-backed Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.
- However, since the seismic revolt, Iran has been led by murderous Islamic fundamentalists and tensions with Washington have remained ever since.
- On November 4, 1979, the Iranian regime took 52 US diplomats hostage in response to President Carter’s administration allowing Iran’s deposed former leader into America.
- The hostage crisis lasted for 444 days and also included a failed rescue mission which cost the lives of eight US soldiers.
- In April 1980, the US ended diplomatic relations with Iran – a break which lasted for more than 30 years.
- In April 1983, Washington blamed the Iranian-funded terror group Hezbollah for carrying out a bombing attack on the American embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.
- The assault, carried out amid a brutal civil war in Lebanon, killed 17 Americans.
- In November of that year, two truck bombs in Beruit killed 241 US peace keepers. The US again blamed Hezbollah for the incident.
- The Clinton White House, in 1995, placed a total embargo on Iran meaning US companies could not trade with the country.
- And in 2002, George W Bush included the Islamic Republic in his famous “Axis of evil” speech along with North Korea and Iraq.
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