Britain’s new foreign secretary has insisted the UK will not barter over tankers with Iran.
Speaking at a summit in Thailand, Dominic Raab said that if Iran wants to come in from the cold, it needs to behave responsibly.
His comments follow those from Iran’s ambassador to the UK Hamid Baeidinejad, who suggested to Sky News on Tuesday that if Britain released its tanker, then a UK-flagged vessel might be freed by Iran.
Speaking in Bangkok – his first trip as foreign secretary – Mr Raab said: “We are not going to barter: if people or nations have detained UK-flagged illegally then the rule of law and rule of international law must be upheld.
“We are not going to barter a ship that was detained legally with a ship that was detained illegally: that’s not the way that Iran will come in from the cold,” he said.
“So I am afraid some kind of barter or haggle or linkage is not on the table.”
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