Iran's ambassador to the United Kingdom has signaled little progress toward a negotiated settlement to a standoff over captured oil tankers. "Impossible to advance a quid pro quo or barter exchange of detained UK and Iranian ships," Hamid Baeidinejad tweeted July 29.
Baeidinejad reaffirmed Tehran's official line that the UK detention of the Iranian vessel Grace 1 off Gibraltar was "illegal" while Iran's capture of the Stena Impero was a response to violations of "some key safety/security regulations" by the British-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic maritime pathway for 20% of global oil.
