The Swedish-based operator of the British-flagged tanker seized last week by Iran said on Tuesday it was still awaiting permission to visit the ship's 23 crew members.

Gibraltar was granted the power on Friday to detain Iran's Grace 1 oil tanker for another month, keeping the vessel at the center of a big-power quarrel between Iran and the United States and its allies.

Britain is sending its HMS Kent warship to the Gulf to protect its interests and ensure freedom of navigation after tensions with Iran, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Wednesday, after earlier saying that the mission was routine.

Britain will send a third warship to the Persian Gulf, though the move is not related to the current Iran crisis, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Tuesday.

Gibraltar police said on Friday that all four crew members of the Iranian Grace 1 tanker have been released on bail without charge after it was detained last week on suspicion of breaking European sanctions by taking oil to Syria.

Britain said on Friday it would deploy the destroyer HMS Duncan warship to the Gulf to replace HMS Montrose, maintaining a continuous presence there during a time of heightened tension in the region.

Britain does not intend to escort every British-flagged merchant vessel through the Strait of Hormuz, a security source said on Thursday, after a Royal Navy warship had to stop three Iranian vessels from blocking the passage of a BP-operated tanker.

Gibraltar police said they have arrested the captain and chief officer of the detained Iranian Grace 1 supertanker accused of violating EU sanctions on Syria and have seized documents and electronic devices from the vessel.

Five boats believed to belong to Iranian Revolutionary Guards approached a British oil tanker in the Gulf on Wednesday and asked it to stop in Iranian waters close by, but withdrew after a British warship warned them, U.S. officials said.

British finance minister Philip Hammond will visit Saudi Arabia on Saturday to promote bilateral business ties, accompanied by London Stock Exchange chief David Schwimmer as Saudi oil giant Aramco revisits a possible listing.

An Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander threatened on Friday to seize a British ship in retaliation for the capture of an Iranian supertanker by Royal Marines in Gibraltar.

British Royal Marines seized a giant Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar on Thursday for trying to take oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions, a dramatic step that drew Tehran's fury and could escalate its confrontation with the West.

The diplomatic chiefs of the EU, France, Germany and Britain said Tuesday they were "extremely concerned" and urged Iran to reverse its decision to breach a limit on enriched uranium reserves under a 2015 nuclear deal.

Britain, France and Germany will not for the moment trigger a dispute resolution mechanism enshrined in the 2015 Iran nuclear accord that could lead to the reimposition of United Nations sanctions, two European diplomats said.

British Prime Minister Theresa May will meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Saturday to discuss the need for de-escalation in the Gulf after tensions rose because of a U.S.-Iran dispute over the country's nuclear deal, May's spokeswoman said.

The first high criminal court decided to adjourn the case of two Turkish nationals accused of attempting to travel through Bahrain International Airport to Britain with forged passports and visas until July 9 to hear the statements of two Bahrain airport employees on the incident.

Some of the world's leading carriers including British Airways, Qantas and Singapore Airlines on Friday suspended flights over the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran-US tensions flare over the downing of a drone.

The British "The Morning Star" newspaper revealed that prison guards from a brutal Middle Eastern dictatorship visited Britain for training shortly before Easter.

Britain has issued its sharpest condemnation of the direction of Saudi Arabian human rights policy, describing its mass executions as "repulsive" and "utterly unacceptable in the modern world".

The British Foreign and Commonwealth office announced on Tuesday (April 9, 2019) appointing Roderick Drummond as UK Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain in succession to Simon Martin.