This week, armed Iranian boats tried to seize a British oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, according to U.S. officials.
CNN reports:
The Iranians ordered the tanker to change course and stop in nearby Iranian territorial waters, according to the officials. A US aircraft was overhead and recorded video of the incident, though CNN has not seen the footage.
A British Ministry of Defense source told CNN that it “appeared that the Iranian vessels were trying to divert the Heritage from international to Iranian waters” before the British Navy ship HMS Montrose “got between them and issued a verbal warning to withdraw.”
That’s only one reason Iran has been under scrutiny this week. In Vienna, the U.S. presented a case before the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to punish Iran for breaking certain terms of the 2015 nuclear deal. Many U.N. countries pushed back against the U.S. position, including Russia, Germany and the U.K.
Meanwhile, British ambassador to the U.S. Kim Darroch has vacated his post after heightened criticism by President Trump. According to leaked memos, Darroch disparaged the Trump administration as “inept,” prompting the president to call Darroch a “pompous fool” with whom he would no longer work.
“It could have been any of us,” one anonymous ambassador told The New York Times.
We’re also following the results of the Greek election, the health of German chancellor Angela Merkel and the alleged end of Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s extradition bill.
We wrap up the week’s global news.
Text by Kathryn Fink.
GUESTS
Amna Nawaz, National correspondent and substitute anchor, PBS NewsHour; @IAmAmnaNawaz
Demetri Sevastopulo, Washington bureau chief, Financial Times; @Dimi
Lara Seligman, Pentagon correspondent, Foreign Policy; @laraseligman
For more, visit https://the1a.org.
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