British Royal Navy fends off an attempt by Iran to seize a British flagged oil tanker.

File photo of the type 23 frigate HMS Montrose. The Telegraph/Royal Navy photo. 

The British Royal Navy successfully defeated an attempt by Iran to seize a British flagged oil tanker. The Telegraph. The British Heritage, an oil tanker owned by BP and registered on the Isle of Mann, was approached by five Iranian gunboats. However, the HMS Montrose, a type-23 frigate, responded to the attack and was able to drive off the gunboats after it pointed her guns at them. The attack is seen as a response to the Royal Navy seizing an Iranian oil tanker at Gibraltar last week. 

My Comment:

A very dangerous situation in the Strait of Hormuz. It could have had a very different outcome. If the Iranians hadn't backed off there could have been a shooting incident and people could have died. Thankfully the Iranians backed off. 

The Iranians could have also seized one of the British ships in the region. Such an action would have been a major incident. Not only would the Iranians have stolen millions of dollars worth of oil, they would also have the crew of the ship to use as hostages. It would have likely resulted in military action of some kind by the British government and would have likely involved America as well. 

Thankfully that didn't happen and the Iranians fled with their tails behind their legs. A type-23 frigate isn't the most powerful warship in the world, but it would have likely made short work of the Iranian gunboats. It would have been a short conflict but a bloody one. The Iranians knew this and had to back down as they would have died without accomplishing anything. 

Such an incident isn't surprising though. There was always going to be blowback from the UK seizing the Iranian oil tanker. Indeed, the main reason why the HMS Montrose was in the area was due to the threat of Iranian piracy. Losing their oil tanker was a major loss of face for the Iranians and they had to do something, even though they look even more weak now than they did before. 

This doesn't bode well for peace in the region. The Iranians got embarrassed here and may try to do something even more provocative. It's possible they will try this stunt again or try to shoot down another drone. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail but the Iran situation looks like it is just getting worse.