IRAN has summoned the UK ambassador after UK marines illegally seized an Iranian oil tanker in the Strait of Gibraltar.
British Royal Marines swooped in on the vessel on Thursday morning, boarded it and then impounded it. The Spanish Foreign Ministry confirmed that the act of piracy was made at the request of the US.
Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said Gibraltar detained the supertanker Grace 1 after a request by the United States to Britain.
Borrell said Spain was looking into the seizure of the ship and how it may affect Spanish sovereignty as it appears to have happened in Spanish waters.
Spain does not recognise the waters around Gibraltar as British.
Iran’s tanker was carrying fuel and oil to the Syrian people. Iran and Syria enjoy vast commercial and trade ties and even under the current international law, Britain has no right to interfere in their relations.
The UK is doing the US ruling class’s dirty work! The US has vowed to reduce Iran’s oil exports ‘to zero’ as part of the sanctions that it reinstated after walking away from the nuclear deal with Iran last year.
The British ruling class has succeeded in finding its new ‘post-EU’ role, openly doing the dirty work of American imperialism.
A Johnson or Hunt Tory government is to be the shameless running dog of US imperialism, following on from its attempt to restore the UK’s colonial role over Hong Kong and China.
Gibraltar port and law enforcement agencies detained the supertanker and its cargo and the British marines were there to ‘assist’, that is use force against the Iranian and Syrian people as required.
A team of about 30 marines, from 42 Commando, were whisked from the UK and flown in to Gibraltar at great speed to do the job!
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said the seizure was ‘a form of piracy’ and did not have any legal and international basis. He called for the tanker to be immediately released to continue its journey.
He added that ‘the move indicated that the UK follows the hostile policies of the US, which is unacceptable for the Iranian nation and government’.
He added: ‘We declared to the ambassador that this move amounts to strange unconventionality, because the sanctions that they have announced are not based on the Security Council resolutions and the Islamic Republic of Iran does not accept this measure (seizure of the tanker).’
The UK ambassador in Iran, Rob Macaire was summoned to the ministry to answer for UK crimes at sea. How the mighty have fallen! British imperialism – that during its heyday ‘ruled the waves’, in an empire where ‘the sun never sets’ – has been reduced to petty acts of piracy on the high seas, stealing oil on behalf of its overlord, the US ruling class.
This is the ‘special relationship’ with the US, much lauded by the Tory government. It is, of course, a relationship of servant/master.
The British ruling class is broken. UK manufacture has been wound up and its army and navy reduced to playing a supportive role to its US master. Poverty-stricken UK is in the middle of an acute economic and political crisis with both the Tory and Labour parties split and divided over its future, battling over whether to serve the EU or the USA.
The US for its part is also facing a desperate crisis, no longer the top dog, they are a net importer rather than exporter and their national debt is over 100% of their GDP, 105.4% to be precise. This is where Trump’s desperate ‘America First’ position comes from, it is the gamble of a loser!
Trump pulled the US out of the agreement called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), then piled sanctions on Iran, and threatened to sanction any country which trades with Iran.
The US is preparing to go to war with Iran to grab its oil. However, the last time the US took Iran to the brink of war, two weeks ago after the Iranians successfully shot down a US spy plane, Trump pulled back fearing the consequences.
The workers of the US and the UK must lead the way. They must rise up against their ruling classes declaring, ‘The enemy is at home!’ They must organise general strikes and workers’ revolutions to smash capitalism and imperialism.
