U.K. Deploys Destroyer to Protect Shipping in Strait of Hormuz

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. has deployed one of its Type 45 warships to help escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran seized a British vessel amid heightening tensions with the West.The frigate, HMS Duncan, will operate alongside the Royal Navy’s HMS Montrose Type 23 to shepherd British-flagged ships through the strait, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement. The air defense destroyer will operate until late August, it said.Oman, which shares the waterway with Iran, said it was in talks with “all parties” to restore stability to the waterway.“We don’t mediate, but in this case we are more concerned than others to ensure the stability of navigation,” Foreign Minister Yousef Bin Alawi said after discussions with Iranian officials in Tehran. Oman has close ties with Iran.Tensions have flared in the strait in recent weeks as Iran pushes back against U.S. sanctions that are crippling its oil exports. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard detained the Stena Impero this month and is still holding the ship. That move came after U.K. forces seized an Iranian tanker near Gibraltar early this month for allegedly violating sanctions against Syria.Oil ChokepointThe strait is a vital thoroughfare for the energy industry, accounting for about a third of the world’s seaborne oil flows. The U.K. said last week under former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt that further measures would be taken to respond to Iran, without giving detail on those plans.“Freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is vital not just to the U.K., but also our international partners and allies,” Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said in the statement. “Merchant ships must be free to travel lawfully and trade safely, anywhere in the world.”The Type 45, manufactured by BAE Systems Plc, was designed to replace the Type 42 warships that formed part of the Royal Navy’s fleet during the Falklands War. The final Type 42 was retired in 2013.The U.K. and Iran are maintaining contacts to try to resolve the situation. In a letter published Sunday by state-run Islamic Republic News Agency, President Hassan Rouhani congratulated Boris Johnson on becoming the U.K. prime minister and said he hoped this would usher in improved ties between London and Tehran.Britain’s ambassador to Iran, meanwhile, said he had “good and detailed talks” with a senior hardline lawmaker who heads the Islamic Republic’s parliamentary commission for National Security and Foreign Policy.Envoy Robert Macaire said in a tweet that it was “important to keep these channels of discussion open” after meeting with cleric and lawmaker, Mojtaba Zonnour, in Tehran. Zonnour was formerly Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s representative to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.Unraveling DealThe standoff over the tankers has fanned the intense strains in the region over renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran following Washington’s abandonment of the multipower nuclear deal with Tehran last year. The other signatories to the deal met with an Iranian envoy in Vienna on Sunday to try to salvage the agreement.Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi characterized the talks as “constructive” but said his country will continue to scale back its commitments to the nuclear deal unless European powers guarantee Iran’s ability to gain economic benefits promised in the accord, the semi-official Fars news reported.(Updates with Oman working to stabilize Hormuz in 3rd paragraph, Rouhani letter to Johnson in ninth, Iranian deputy foreign minister’s comments in 13th.)\--With assistance from Arsalan Shahla and Vivian Nereim.To contact the reporter on this story: Benjamin Katz in London at bkatz38@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Amy TeibelFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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