突发：伊朗扣留英国油轮 （来而不往非礼也）
突发：伊朗扣留英国油轮
林立丰 BUMBLEBEE英语课堂 今天央视新闻伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队发表声明称，当地时间19日下午，伊朗海军在霍尔木兹海峡扣押一艘英国油轮，称其违反国际海事法。声明指出，伊朗海军是在接到伊朗南部霍尔木兹甘省港口及海事处要求后按国际法规扣押油轮。目前，这艘油轮已被导航到港口接受检查和进行相关法律程序。
△遭伊朗扣押的英国油轮油轮被指影响航线安全且无视警告伊朗霍尔木兹甘省港口及海事局局长表示，被扣押的挂有英国国旗的油轮在航行中与一艘渔船发生事故，渔船试图联系该油轮，但没有得到回应。于是这艘渔船向港口做了通报，伊朗方面随后例行让海军将该油轮引向了伊朗港口。另据消息人士称，这艘英国油轮在通过霍尔木兹海峡时违反了该海域通行规则，从航道的出口线路进入海峡，影响了航线安全。该油轮还关闭了应答系统，并且无视伊朗方面发出的警告。这艘油轮所属和管理公司证实，这艘在英国注册的油轮在通过霍尔木兹海峡时，被几艘不明舰艇和一架直升机接近，现在公司方面无法与油轮取得联系，油轮上有23名船员，公司方面希望船只的安全和船员的权益能够得到保证。据称，该船上没有英籍公民，船员分别来自印度、俄罗斯、拉脱维亚和菲律宾。英方声称伊朗扣留两艘国际油轮对于伊朗的行为，英国方面表示，伊朗在扣押悬挂英国国旗油轮的40多分钟后，还扣押了一艘悬挂赖比瑞亚国旗的油轮，被扣时该油轮正驶向沙特。路透社报道称，这艘悬挂赖比瑞亚国旗、名为Mesdar号的油轮属于英国的Norbulk船运公司，正在前往沙特，19日晚在航行中突然转向、驶向伊朗方向。
△Mesdar号突然转向驶向伊朗水域跟踪图
伊朗：已放行悬挂赖比瑞亚国旗油轮然而，伊朗表示，伊朗方面只是对这艘油轮做了航道安全说明和例行环境检查，目前已经让这艘油轮继续航行。而这一情况随后得到油轮所属方的证实。英国Norbulk船运公司表示，Mesdar号已经恢复驶向沙特的航线，船员也都「安全、健康」。
△Mesdar号
英外交部：扣押油轮行为「不可接受」在伊朗扣押一艘悬挂英国国旗油轮后，英国外交部回应称，伊朗的行为「不可接受」，并且表示，必须保持所有船只在这一地区的航行自由。此外，英国外交部表示，英国驻伊朗大使已经联系伊朗外交部，试图解决这一局面。
另据报道，英国政府将就此尽快召开紧急内阁会议，以「确保油轮能够迅速获得释放」。英国外交部称，如果不释放这艘油轮，伊朗将承担相应后果。
新闻多看点NEWS MORE本月初，英国海外领地直布罗陀当局在英国海军协助下扣押装载伊朗原油的「格蕾丝一号」油轮，称其违反欧盟制裁令、向叙利亚运送原油。伊朗方面对此予以否认，表示油轮目的地并非叙利亚，且油轮遭拦截时处于国际水域，英方的做法没有国际法依据，要求英国立即释放被扣油轮。伊朗还放言，「对这种行为不会无动于衷，将会在适当的时机和场合做出回应」。英国方面13日称，如伊朗方面确保此前被英国扣留的油轮目的地并非叙利亚，英国愿释放该油轮。不过，直布罗陀最高法院19日裁定，将装载伊朗原油的「格蕾丝一号」油轮扣押期限延长到8月15日。直布罗陀首席部长法比安·皮卡尔多19日表示，他已与伊朗官员在英国伦敦私下会面。他告诉伊朗官员相应的法律程序必须被遵守，但直布罗陀将继续同伊朗合作，在法律框架内妥善地解决这一事件。相关英语新闻来源有：
1 China Daily Iran says seizes UK oil tanker to uphold maritime rules2 The Economist
Iran seizes a British oil tanker
TEHRAN, July 20 — The seizure of the UK oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz （霍尔木兹海峡）aimed to "uphold international maritime rules," said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday."Unlike the piracy in the Strait of Gibraltar（直布罗陀海峡）, our action in the Gulf is to uphold international maritime rules," Zarif tweeted.Earlier this month, British Royal Marines seized an Iranian ship in the Strait of Gibraltar, which Britain claimed was heading to Syria "in breach of EU sanctions."
Iran had threatened to retaliate if London did not release the Iranian oil tanker.
On Friday, Irans Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) seized the British oil tanker "Stena Impero" in the Strait of Hormuz for what it called "failing to respect the international maritime rules while passing through the strait.""It is Iran that （强调句型） guarantees the security of the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz," Zarif stressed in his tweet.Also, Tasnim news agency quoted an Iranian informed source as saying on Saturday that a number of legal reasons were behind the seizure of the British oil tanker by Iran.Britains "Stena Impero" oil tanker was captured by the Iranian naval forces for some cases of violation of the maritime law when it was passing through the high-traffic Strait of Hormuz on Friday evening, the source was quoted as saying.The British 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, it said.
The tanker was reportedly entering the strait from the southern route which is an exit path, increasing the risk of an accident.Moreover, it did not heed any of the warnings from the Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization, it said, adding the vessel was also polluting the Gulf water heavily by dumping crude oil residue.On Saturday, Allah-Morad Afifipoor, head of Irans Ports and Maritime Organization in southern Hormozgan Province, also said that the British oil tanker had an accident with an Iranian fishing boat and ignored its distress call.The British "Stena Impero" tanker had "collided with a fishing boat on its route and, according to law, after an accident, it is necessary that the causes should be investigated," Afifipoor was quoted as saying by Press TV.Following the collision on Friday, the Iranian fishing boat "contacted the British vessel but didnt receive any response," so they informed the Hormozgan maritime organization, he said.
The tanker was taken to Irans Bandar Abbas port, where it and its crew will remain while a probe is carried out into the British vessels conduct, he added.The tanker was not carrying any cargo, he said, adding that "the investigation into the cause of the accident has started.""All of its 23 crew members will remain on the ship until the probe is over," he said."If necessary, and at the request of judicial authorities, the crew may be summoned for technical and specialist interviews," Afifpoor added.Following the Friday incident in the Strait of Hormuz, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned that serious consequences would ensueif Irans seizure of a British-operated oil tanker is not resolved quickly."Were not looking at military options, were looking at a diplomatic way to resolve the situation, but we are very clear that it must be resolved," Hunt said.
【注释】
1 ensue：（尤指作为结果而）接著发生，继而发生，因而产生；to happen after something else, especially as a result of it；ensuing：因而发生的；随后的；
AFTER MORE than a week of warnings, Iran has made good on its threat to seize a British oil tanker. The Stena Impero, a 30,000-ton vessel, was travelling west through the Strait of Hormuz on the afternoon of July 19th, bound for Saudi Arabia. Then the ship』s owner says it was 「approached by unidentified small crafts and a helicopter.」 It soon lost contact. That evening, tracking data showed the tanker and its 23 crew members in Iranian waters off Qeshm island, where the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) maintains a base. The IRGC says it was seized for 「failing to respect international maritime rules」. A second vessel, the Mesdar, flagged in Liberia but operated by a British firm, was also reportedly diverted to Iran. Iranian news agencies said it had later been released.
Iran threatened to do exactly this after Britain seized an Iranian tanker off Gibraltar on July 4th. Britain believes the vessel was carrying Iranian oil to Syria, which is under European sanctions. Iran denies this and accuses Britain of breaking international law. Gibraltar』s supreme court extended the ship』s detention on July 19th, allowing authorities to hold it for another month.These vessels are now pawns in a worsening crisis caused by America』s decision to walk away from a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and impose crushing economic sanctions. Though Iran remained in compliance for a year, in recent weeks it has breached provisions on the quantity and purity of its enriched uranium. It is eager to show it can impose costs on America and its allies. Six tankers were sabotaged in the Persian Gulf in May and June. On July 10th Iranian forces attempted to halt a British tanker, reportedly retreating only when a British warship trained its guns onthe Iranian boats. But Britain admitted it did not have enough warships to protect all of its commercial vessels.The skies over the Gulf are growing tense as well. On July 18th the USS Boxer, an American warship loaded with marines, zapped an Iranian drone that had approached within 1,000 yards and refused to 「stand down」, according to President Donald Trump. The drone was taken out not by bullets or missiles, but by electronic warfare used to jam its signals. The Boxer and five other ships had been passing through the strait as a show of force, and Iranian helicopters and ships had been making close passes, according to the Wall Street Journal. Iran claims, however, that all its drones are accounted for（对比unaccounted for）. One month earlier, Iran shot down an American drone.All of these earlier incidents were, in a sense, small enough to overlook. Investigators have yet to assign blame for the sabotage operations (and Iran denies it was involved). Mr Trump approved airstrikes after the American drone was shot down, only to cancel them when he decided the response was disproportionate. Seizing tankers on the high seas, however, will be impossible for Iran to disown（声称与··断绝关系）, and for America and its allies to ignore. Freedom of navigation is a core principle of international law. It will undermine Iran』s strategy of trying to drive a wedge between America and European powers, which remain parties to the nuclear deal and want to preserve it.Ironically, hours before the tankers were seized, Iran』s foreign minister made a diplomatic proposal to end the crisis. A modest one, to be sure: Muhammad Javad Zarif offered to give international inspectors greater access to Iran』s nuclear facilities if America would lift sanctions. That was meant to happen anyway in 2023, as part of the nuclear deal. Mr Zarif』s offer would have simply accelerated the timeline. But it was the first concrete proposal from an Iranian government that, less than a month ago, said Mr Trump』s sanctions meant the 「permanent closure」 of diplomacy.Making cosmetic tweaks（稍微修改） to an old pact and slapping Mr Trump』s name on it is a tried-and-tested trick. In November America』s trade deal with Canada and Mexico was changed slightly, renamed USMCA and then embraced by Mr Trump. 「Minimal changes could be enough to call it the Trump Agreement,」 says Ernest Moniz, who played a key role in negotiating the original deal as secretary of energy in the Obama administration. But there is a small problem with attempting this solution for Iran, points out Nick Miller, a professor at Dartmouth: 「to execute it, Trump would need to fire or ignore most of his national security team.」Mr Trump』s advisors have been busy trying to box in the president. In May last year Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, insisted that Iran cease all enrichment as one of a dozen conditions to be laid down for a new deal. On July 18th John Bolton, Mr Trump』s national security advisor, tweeted that 「one of the worst mistakes of the Iran deal, now on full display, was allowing Iran to maintain enrichment capabilities.」 Such drastic new prohibitions would go well beyond the face-saving modifications that Iran is likely to accept. More skirmishing probably lies ahead.【注释】
1 make good on sth：做承诺的事；to do what you have said you would do；2 train：把（枪、相机、光等）对准，将…瞄准；to aim or point a gun, camera, light, etc. at someone or something；3 zap：（尤指蓄意）破坏，谋杀； to get rid of or kill something or someone, especially intentionally；4 box somebody in：限制…，约束…；to prevent someone from doing what they want to do；推荐阅读：
