Iran, UK Discuss Bilateral Ties, Yemen Crisis

UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Dominic Raab held a telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday evening.

In the conversation, the two ministers discussed the latest developments concerning the bilateral ties and implementation of the JCPOA, a series of consular affairs between the two countries, the ongoing developments in the region, particularly the situation in Yemen, as well as the other issues of mutual interest.

Political tensions between Iran and the UK grew recently after the British Royal Navy captured an Iranian supertanker in the international waters off the coasts of Gibraltar in early July.

Two weeks later, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy captured British oil tanker Stena Impero in Iran’s southern waters because the UK vessel had switched off its GPS locator, in contravention of international regulations, and was sailing into the Strait of Hormuz in a wrong traffic pattern.

The British tanker was entering the strait from the southern route which is an exit path, increasing the risk of an accident.