Free Republic

LONDON — Iranian-linked terrorist cells are reportedly thought to be ready to strike the UK if the crisis between London and Tehran escalates further, as supporters of Prime Minister Theresa May's government increased their criticism over Iran's seizing of a British-flagged tanker in the Persian Gulf.

DUBAI —A British warship tried but failed to prevent Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from seizing a British tanker in the Strait of Hormuz last week, intercepted radio communications show, fueling a wave of recriminations in London on Sunday over who was to blame for the incident last week. In recordings obtained by the shipping consultancy Dryad Global and posted on its website Sunday, a member of the Revolutionary Guard is heard ordering the British-flagged Stena Impero tanker to divert course toward Iran. “Alter your course,” the man says. “If you obey you will be safe.” A British naval officer...

Jeremy Hunt today warned that Iran may be choosing a “dangerous path” of “illegal and destabilising” behaviour after it seized a British-flagged tanker in the Gulf. The cargo vessel Stena Impero had been sailing through the Strait of Hormuz en route to Saudi Arabia when it was surrounded by four vessels and a helicopter at 4pm yesterday in an escalation of tensions between London and Tehran.

Iran has seized a second tanker, US official says From CNN's Barbara Starr Iran has also seized a second tanker, the Liberian-flagged MV Mesdar, according to a US official. Two more US officials tell CNN that, according to maritime intelligence reports, the indication is the Mesdar has been seized. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced earlier that its navy has captured a British-flagged tanker ‘Stena Impero’ in the Strait of Hormuz. The order of seizure of the two ships isn’t clear at this time.

Five boats thought to be Iranian tried to stop a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, according to US officials. The boats withdrew after a warning from a British warship operating in the area. The incident comes as a Royal Navy warship was said to be offering extra protection to a second tanker in the Gulf following a threat from Iran to seize a British vessel. Sky News understands HMS Montrose, a Type 23 frigate, has been travelling with a tanker, British Heritage, according to a ship tracking website and a defence source. Tensions have been rising since...

Iran should consider seizing a British oil tanker in response to authorities detaining an Iranian oil tanker off the coast of Gibraltar, a former leader of the Islamic Republic’s powerful Revolutionary Guard said Friday. The striking comment by Mohsen Rezaei came amid heightened tensions over Iran’s unraveling 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, an accord that the U.S. withdrew from last year. In recent days, Iran has broken through the limit the nuclear deal imposed on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium and plans on Sunday to boost its enrichment. In the past months, the U.S. has rushed thousands of additional...

New imagery released by the U.S. on Monday makes the strongest case yet that sectarian Iranian forces attacked at least one petrochemical tanker in the Gulf of Oman, a long-time naval analyst told USNI News on Monday. Taken from a Navy MH-60R Seahawk, the new photographs show a similar scene as a grainy black and white video U.S. Central Command released on Thursday. In them, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy fast attack craft come alongside the Japanese-owned petrochemical tanker M/V Kokuka Courageous and removed what CENTCOM said is a limpet mine. “Limpet mines are attached to a vessel via...

In the hours before the attack on the two tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday, the Iranians spotted a US drone flying overhead and launched a surface-to-air missile at the unmanned aircraft, a US official told CNN. The missile missed the drone and fell into the water, the official said. Prior to taking fire, the American MQ-9 drone observed Iranian vessels closing in on the tankers, the official added, though the source did not say whether the unmanned aircraft saw the boats conducting an actual attack.

The U.S. Air Force has accepted the first Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker, an important milestone for the troubled program. However, the initial batch of aircraft will still have serious problems with their remote vision and refueling boom systems, meaning that the planes remain years away from reaching their full operational potential. Foreign Policy was the first to report on the agreement between the Air Force and Boeing to proceed with the deliveries of the aircraft, citing anonymous sources, on Jan. 10, 2019. Defense News then reported that the Chicago-headquartered planemaker had agreed to fix the remaining deficiencies and that...

The tanker was carrying 136,000 metric tons (nearly 1 million barrels) of condensate when it collided with the Hong Kong-registered freighter CF Crystal late Saturday. The 21 members of the Crystal's all-Chinese crew were rescued.

Air Force KC-135 tankers lined up on the runway in Kadena, Japan. AFA: The Air Force needs more tankers and transports because a sophisticated enemy like Russia or China can shoot them down, the chief of Air Mobility Command said here. The current fleet size is based on war plans that only considered how much fuel, supplies, equipment, and troops the air fleet needed to move from A to B, Gen. Carlton Everhart told reporters. The assumption was that no enemy could challenge our control of the skies, which made sense against the Taliban or the Islamic State. But now,...

Pilots with the Iowa Air National Guard’s 185th Air Refueling Wing fly the unit’s first KC-135 aircraft converted with the newest digital avionics cockpit instruments. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Air National Guard A Boeing KC-135 with Rockwell Collins-upgraded avionics has been delivered to The Iowa Air National Guard’s 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City, the guard said. The aircraft received a Block 45 upgrade, and now has the “newest” digital avionics cockpit instruments. “The jet that we are bringing home was built in 1958 and most of the instrumentation is original to the aircraft,” said Lt. Col. Shawn...

At least 150 people were killed and 100 more injured in eastern Pakistan when an overturned tanker truck exploded while villagers were trying to collect fuel that had spilled onto the roadway. ... The tanker blew a tire, authorities said, leading to the crash. When an oil tanker overturned in Pakistan, residents rushed to collect the gushing fuel. Then the tanker exploded. https://t.co/fHq24yAVal pic.twitter.com/JIGOANRlYu — New York Times World (@nytimesworld) June 26, 2017 After the tanker crashed, it began leaking its 5,500 gallons of fuel. Although police tried to keep people from the wreck, residents of the community used anything...

An announcement over a mosque's loudspeaker that an overturned tanker truck had sprung a leak sent scores of villagers racing to the scene to gather spilled fuel. ... The disaster occurred when hundreds of residents of a nearby village gathered at the site of an overturned oil tanker to collect the leaking fuel. It’s believed that a spark from the many cars and motorcycles that raced to the scene ignited the fuel.

The Israel Air Force tanker aircraft are nearing the age of 60, so the Israeli army bought a Boeing 707 from the Brazilian air force to use for parts. The air force is proud of its fleet of several tanker aircraft. They broke the record for the longest Israeli military flight when they covered a distance of 10,000 consecutive kilometers. However, these planes, which are required for long-range missions in various countries like Iran, are getting on. The youngest one is the Re’em (Boeing 707) at 35 years, while the oldest one was manufactured in 1958. Old planes mean mishaps,...

Published on Apr 13, 2017 A dashboard camera captures the moment a gas tanker exploded on I-310 on April 13.

WASHINGTON: When Boeing really, truly and finally won the airborne tanker competition by underbidding what was then EADS North America (now Airbus) by at least 10 percent, the chairman of the losing company, Ralph Crosby, said he believed it important that Boeing be watched closely to make sure they delivered at that price and on schedule. “If they aren’t, then they should be held accountable,” he said at the press conference announcing EADS would not protest the win. Well, Boeing’s KC-46 is quite late and very over-budget. It was supposed to be ready for a spring 2017 arrival at Altus...

A problem that has prevented Boeing Co 's KC-46A tanker aircraft from transferring fuel to a C-17 transport plane may delay a Pentagon decision approving low-rate production of the new tanker in May, the U.S. Air Force said on Thursday. "We don't yet know the schedule impact to the planned May Milestone C decision, but the problem is well understood and we don't expect an extended delay," said Air Force spokesman Daryl Mayer. Mayer said the issue arose during testing of the refueling boom that is used to transfer fuel from the 767-based tanker aircraft to a C-17 transport plane,...

China’s slowing growth has crushed shipping rates to such an extent that hiring a 1,100-foot merchant vessel would set you back less than the price of renting a Ferrari for a day.  As Bloomberg reports, Rates for Capesize-class ships plummeted 92 percent since August to $1,563 a day amid slowing growth in China. That’s less than a third of the daily rate of 3,950 pounds ($5,597) to rent a Ferrari F40, the price of which has also fallen slightly in the past few years, according to Nick Hardwick, founder of supercarexperiences.com. The Baltic Exchange’s rates reflect the cost of hiring the...

Airbus said on Tuesday its defence division would not bid for a Japanese air-to-air refueling tanker aircraft deal estimated to be worth over a billion dollars because the terms of the tender favoured its U.S. rival Boeing Co. Japan's government had said in June that it wants four tankers to supplement its existing four Boeing 767-based tankers. On Tuesday, a Japanese Ministry of Defense spokeswoman confirmed that a request for proposals (RFP) has been issued, but was unable to provide any other details or respond to the Airbus decision. In a statement, Airbus said the RFP allowed Japan to buy...