Britain on Thursday rejected the idea of swapping the seized tankers with Iran, Reuters reported.
“We are not going to barter: if people or nations have detained UK-flagged [ships] illegally then the rule of law and rule of international law must be upheld,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Thursday.
Tensions sparked between Tehran and London since Iran seized a British-flagged tanker earlier this month in the Strait of Hormuz.
On July, British Royal Marines have also seized an Iranian supertanker while passing through Strait of Gibraltar. It is believed that Iranian ship was carrying oil to Syria, which is in violation of Europe’s sanctions. Grace 1 supertanker was possibly transferring more than 2.1 million barrels of light crude oil to the Baniyas refinery in Syria.
The British government has insisted once again on Thursday that Iran’s move was illegal.
