Britain on Saturday urged Iran to de-escalate tensions in the Gulf by releasing a UK-flagged ship it said had been illegally seized in Omani waters in an "utterly unacceptable" gambit.
Tehran was defiantly ignoring mounting European appeals to free the captured oil tanker and its mostly Indian crew, as the U.S. prepared to redeploy troops to Iran's regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it seized the Stena Impero ship on Friday for breaking "international maritime rules" in the Strait of Hormuz, a Gulf chokepoint for about a third of the world's sea-borne oil.
The oil tanker was impounded off Bandar Abbas port for allegedly failing to respond to distress calls and turning off its transponder after colliding with a fishing vessel, Iranian authorities said.
British-flagged tanker Stena Impero is seized by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps when anchoring off the port of Bandar Abbas with all its crew aboard after colliding with a fishing boat, Iran, July 20, 2019. /VCG Photo
It came hours after a court in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar said it would extend by 30 days the detention of the Grace 1 Iranian tanker seized by British authorities in the Mediterranean two weeks ago on allegations of breaching EU sanctions against Syria.
"They see this as a tit-for-tat situation," British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said following talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif and a meeting of the UK's emergency response committee.
"Nothing could be further from the truth."
Hunt said that while the Grace 1 had been detained legally, "the Stena Impero was seized in Omani waters in clear contravention of international law. It was then forced to sail into Iran. This is totally and utterly unacceptable."
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt delivers a speech during a Conservative Party leadership event in London, Britain, July 1, 2019. /VCG Photo
Germany and France urged Iran to release the tanker, whose seizure Berlin called a "dangerous further aggravation of an already tense situation".
The European Union voiced "deep concern."
U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday's incident "only goes to show what I'm saying about Iran: trouble. Nothing but trouble."
But Iran remained defiant.
Zarif said Iran's actions were taken to "uphold" international maritime rules.
"It is IRAN that guarantees the security of the Persian Gulf & the Strait of Hormuz. UK must cease being an accessory to #EconomicTerrorism of the U.S.," he tweeted.
Later on Saturday, NATO's spokesman joined calls condemning Iran's move, saying it was a "clear challenge to international freedom of navigation." It said all NATO allies were concerned by "Iran's destabilizing activities."
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrives to speak at a high level political forum on sustainable development at the UN Headquarters, during which he accused the U.S. of waging "economic terrorism" on Iran, New York, July 17, 2019. /VCG Photo
Footage released
Tensions in the Gulf have soared since May, with Trump calling off airstrikes against Iran at the last minute in June after the Islamic republic downed a U.S. drone.
The U.S. has also blamed Iran for multiple attacks on tankers in the Gulf.
Iran said it had opened an investigation on Saturday into the newly-seized tanker.
The IRGC released footage allegedly showing the capture operation.
Filmed from a ship and a helicopter, it shows small craft sailing alongside the ship, troops in balaclavas inside a chopper, and six people descending down a rope onto the vessel.
Owned by Swedish operator Stena Bulk, the tanker's crew of 23 consists of 18 Indians, three Russians, a Latvian and a Filipino.
New Delhi, Manila and Riga said they were in touch with Tehran to seek the release of their nationals.
Stena Bulk said its insurers had been in contact with the head of marine affairs at Bandar Abbas, who reported that the crew were in "good health".
A formal request is being prepared for a visit to the crew.
The head of marine affairs "confirmed to them that no instructions have been received so far as to what will happen to the ship."
Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz approves hosting U.S. forces in the country to boost regional security and stability on July 19. The picture shows him attending the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, May 30, 2019. /VCG Photo
U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia
As tensions soared, Saudi Arabia said it would once again host US troops to boost regional security.
The Pentagon said the deployment "ensures our ability to defend our forces and interests in the region from emergent, credible threats."
The U.S. military also said its patrol aircraft were monitoring the Strait and announced a "multinational maritime effort" to ensure freedom of navigation in key waterways.
The escalation comes more than a year after Washington unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement and began ratcheting up sanctions against Tehran.
Earlier this month, Iran exceeded the deal's caps on uranium enrichment, aiming to pressure the remaining parties, including Britain, France, and Germany, to make good on promises to help prop up its economy.
Tehran has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz if attacked.