突發：伊朗扣留英國油輪 （來而不往非禮也）
突發：伊朗扣留英國油輪
林立豐 BUMBLEBEE英語課堂 今天央視新聞伊朗伊斯蘭革命衛隊發表聲明稱，當地時間19日下午，伊朗海軍在霍爾木茲海峽扣押一艘英國油輪，稱其違反國際海事法。聲明指出，伊朗海軍是在接到伊朗南部霍爾木茲甘省港口及海事處要求後按國際法規扣押油輪。目前，這艘油輪已被導航到港口接受檢查和進行相關法律程序。
△遭伊朗扣押的英國油輪油輪被指影響航線安全且無視警告伊朗霍爾木茲甘省港口及海事局局長表示，被扣押的掛有英國國旗的油輪在航行中與一艘漁船發生事故，漁船試圖聯繫該油輪，但沒有得到回應。於是這艘漁船向港口做了通報，伊朗方面隨後例行讓海軍將該油輪引向了伊朗港口。另據消息人士稱，這艘英國油輪在通過霍爾木茲海峽時違反了該海域通行規則，從航道的出口線路進入海峽，影響了航線安全。該油輪還關閉了應答系統，並且無視伊朗方面發出的警告。這艘油輪所屬和管理公司證實，這艘在英國註冊的油輪在通過霍爾木茲海峽時，被幾艘不明艦艇和一架直升機接近，現在公司方面無法與油輪取得聯繫，油輪上有23名船員，公司方面希望船隻的安全和船員的權益能夠得到保證。據稱，該船上沒有英籍公民，船員分別來自印度、俄羅斯、拉脫維亞和菲律賓。英方聲稱伊朗扣留兩艘國際油輪對於伊朗的行為，英國方面表示，伊朗在扣押懸掛英國國旗油輪的40多分鐘後，還扣押了一艘懸掛賴比瑞亞國旗的油輪，被扣時該油輪正駛向沙特。路透社報道稱，這艘懸掛賴比瑞亞國旗、名為Mesdar號的油輪屬於英國的Norbulk船運公司，正在前往沙特，19日晚在航行中突然轉向、駛向伊朗方向。
△Mesdar號突然轉向駛向伊朗水域跟蹤圖
伊朗：已放行懸掛賴比瑞亞國旗油輪然而，伊朗表示，伊朗方面只是對這艘油輪做了航道安全說明和例行環境檢查，目前已經讓這艘油輪繼續航行。而這一情況隨後得到油輪所屬方的證實。英國Norbulk船運公司表示，Mesdar號已經恢復駛向沙特的航線，船員也都「安全、健康」。
△Mesdar號
英外交部：扣押油輪行為「不可接受」在伊朗扣押一艘懸掛英國國旗油輪後，英國外交部回應稱，伊朗的行為「不可接受」，並且表示，必須保持所有船隻在這一地區的航行自由。此外，英國外交部表示，英國駐伊朗大使已經聯繫伊朗外交部，試圖解決這一局面。
另據報道，英國政府將就此儘快召開緊急內閣會議，以「確保油輪能夠迅速獲得釋放」。英國外交部稱，如果不釋放這艘油輪，伊朗將承擔相應後果。
新聞多看點NEWS MORE本月初，英國海外領地直布羅陀當局在英國海軍協助下扣押裝載伊朗原油的「格蕾絲一號」油輪，稱其違反歐盟制裁令、向敘利亞運送原油。伊朗方面對此予以否認，表示油輪目的地並非敘利亞，且油輪遭攔截時處於國際水域，英方的做法沒有國際法依據，要求英國立即釋放被扣油輪。伊朗還放言，「對這種行為不會無動於衷，將會在適當的時機和場合做出回應」。英國方面13日稱，如伊朗方面確保此前被英國扣留的油輪目的地並非敘利亞，英國願釋放該油輪。不過，直布羅陀最高法院19日裁定，將裝載伊朗原油的「格蕾絲一號」油輪扣押期限延長到8月15日。直布羅陀首席部長法比安·皮卡爾多19日表示，他已與伊朗官員在英國倫敦私下會面。他告訴伊朗官員相應的法律程序必須被遵守，但直布羅陀將繼續同伊朗合作，在法律框架內妥善地解決這一事件。相關英語新聞來源有：
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 （霍爾木茲海峽）aimed to "uphold international maritime rules," said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday."Unlike the piracy in the Strait of Gibraltar（直布羅陀海峽）, 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 （強調句型） 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.
【注釋】
1 ensue：（尤指作為結果而）接著發生，繼而發生，因而產生；to happen after something else, especially as a result of it；ensuing：因而發生的；隨後的；
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（對比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（聲稱與··斷絕關係）, 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.【注釋】
1 make good on sth：做承諾的事；to do what you have said you would do；2 train：把（槍、相機、光等）對準，將…瞄準；to aim or point a gun, camera, light, etc. at someone or something；3 zap：（尤指蓄意）破壞，謀殺； to get rid of or kill something or someone, especially intentionally；4 box somebody in：限制…，約束…；to prevent someone from doing what they want to do；推薦閱讀：
