The commander of a British warship accompanying UK-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz said Wednesday (July 31st) that Tehran appeared to be testing the Royal Navy's resolve, AFP reported.
HMS Montrose commander William King said during 27 days patrolling the entrance to the Gulf he had 85 "interactions with Iranian forces", which had often led to "an exchange of warnings" over radio.
"That gives you some idea of the intensity," he told BBC Radio in a phone interview from aboard the frigate, which is "perhaps more than we have seen of recent times".
"The Iranians seem to be keen to test our resolve, test our reactions most of the time," he said. "They will claim that perhaps our presence is illegitimate, even though we are completely lawfully in international waters."
"They may also run boats in at speed towards us, to test what warning levels we get to."
HMS Montrose began the escorts through the shipping lane earlier this month amid rising tensions with Iran that have included the detention of British-flagged tanker "Stena Impero".
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday spoke with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani and reiterated his call for a de-escalation of tensions in the Gulf.
Paris has engaged in intense diplomacy seeking to solve the current tensions, with Macron's foreign policy advisor Emmanuel Bonne twice visiting Tehran.
