A second warship has arrived in the Strait of Hormuz to protect British ships in the strategic waterway, as the foreign secretary urged Iran to “come out of the dark” and release a British-flagged tanker it detained there two weeks ago.
The Ministry of Defence said that Royal Navy vessel HMS Duncanarrived over the weekend and will work with frigate HMS Montrose in accompanying merchant vessels to “secure this essential route”.
Iran has previously slammed the move as “provocative”, criticising a wider British proposal to create a European-led naval mission to escort tankers in the Gulf.
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, urged Iran to follow international rules and release the vessel, which together with its crew, remains under the control of the guards.
“You cannot go about detaining unlawfully foreign vessels,” he told Sky News on Monday.
“If the Iranians want to come of the dark and be accepted as a responsible member of the international community they need to adhere to rules-based system of the international community,” he added.
Read more: