UK Defence Secretary John Healey has confirmed that the country supported a joint US operation to intercept a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic.
The vessel, known as Bella 1, is sanctioned by the US under its counter-Iran sanctions aimed at stopping Iran from fuelling instability in the Middle East through the profits of illegal oil sales. The ship was initially flying a false flag and turned off its transponders while at sea before being pursued by a US Coast Guard vessel.
Healey described the vessel as "a sanctioned, stateless vessel which carries a long history of nefarious activity and shares close links with both Iran and Russia". The UK provided enabling support to the operation, including basing for US military assets and surveillance from the air.
The incident has been seen as an example of the increasing threat posed by Russian and Iranian activities in the global maritime domain. Healey said that this was a stark reminder of how the world is changing and becoming "less predictable and more dangerous".
He also stated that the UK will continue to step up its action against shadow fleet activity, which he described as part of a Russian-Iranian axis of sanctions evasion that is fuelling terrorism and conflict around the world.
In response to the operation, Labour's defence secretary James Cartlidge has called for clarification on the number of troops that will be deployed, what proportion of forces will be involved in patrolling a demilitarised zone between Ukraine and Russia, and which other nations will be involved in deploying troops apart from France and the UK.
Meanwhile, Conservative MP Nigel Farage has used the incident to attack Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, over crime rates in the city. The Reform UK leader claimed that London is a "crime-ridden hellhole" and accused Khan of failing to address the issue.
The vessel, known as Bella 1, is sanctioned by the US under its counter-Iran sanctions aimed at stopping Iran from fuelling instability in the Middle East through the profits of illegal oil sales. The ship was initially flying a false flag and turned off its transponders while at sea before being pursued by a US Coast Guard vessel.
Healey described the vessel as "a sanctioned, stateless vessel which carries a long history of nefarious activity and shares close links with both Iran and Russia". The UK provided enabling support to the operation, including basing for US military assets and surveillance from the air.
The incident has been seen as an example of the increasing threat posed by Russian and Iranian activities in the global maritime domain. Healey said that this was a stark reminder of how the world is changing and becoming "less predictable and more dangerous".
He also stated that the UK will continue to step up its action against shadow fleet activity, which he described as part of a Russian-Iranian axis of sanctions evasion that is fuelling terrorism and conflict around the world.
In response to the operation, Labour's defence secretary James Cartlidge has called for clarification on the number of troops that will be deployed, what proportion of forces will be involved in patrolling a demilitarised zone between Ukraine and Russia, and which other nations will be involved in deploying troops apart from France and the UK.
Meanwhile, Conservative MP Nigel Farage has used the incident to attack Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, over crime rates in the city. The Reform UK leader claimed that London is a "crime-ridden hellhole" and accused Khan of failing to address the issue.
i was just talking to my friend about how they're getting shipped out to all these places and it's like who needs all that stuff anyway 
also, have you seen that video of a ship sinking or something? so cool... but back to this, like why are they being chased by the US coast guard if it's sanctioned 
and what's up with Russia and Iran working together 
is it just business as usual or what? anyway, can we talk about my new phone? i got a great deal on it last week 
. It's like, we're talking about two major world powers here, and they can't even be bothered to follow basic international norms anymore 
. I'm all for taking a strong stance against their sanctions evasion tactics, but at what cost? 
. We need to think carefully about how we're going to balance our interests with our values and not just get sucked into some kind of proxy war 
.
We need more constructive conversations about how to tackle problems instead of just trying to score points. And btw, what's with the drama around the joint US-UK operation? It seems like we're getting caught up in some geopolitics that might not be entirely clear-cut... 
Just dropped some stats on this 
Meanwhile, Russia is accused of having 24 "illicit tanker vessels" in its fleet 
The cost of sanctions evasion? A whopping $15 billion per year 
Like we haven't seen this before, right? The US is basically saying "hey, you're not doing what you say you're doing, and now you gotta deal". Easy peasy for them, but what's the real motive here? Are they just trying to strangle Iran's economy or is there something more going on? 
And then we got our own politicians jumping into the fray like Farage. "Hey, let me take a swing at Sadiq Khan's knees while he's trying to deal with this". Classy move, Nigel... 
. it's like, we're already dealing with so many problems globally, can't we just take a deep breath and try to resolve stuff peacefully? 
i mean, I get that the UK is trying to support their allies and whatnot, but at the same time, we gotta think about the consequences of all this. like, what's gonna happen to innocent people caught in the middle? 
let's hope there are some wise heads making decisions that actually think about the bigger picture