Britain warns of 'great risk' of escalation in Gulf

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned Saturday there was a "great risk" of escalation in the Gulf, adding that Washington wanted the situation to end in negotiations.

A Japanese-owned tanker, the Kokuka Courageous, and a Norwegian-operated one, the Front Altair, were attacked on Thursday and left ablaze as they were passing through the Gulf of Oman.

Britain has concluded that responsibility "almost certainly" lies with Iran.

Asked on BBC television about the possibility of escalation, he said: "This is the great risk of the situation that we are in.

"Both sides in this dispute think that the other side wouldn't want a war. We are urging all sides to de-escalate.

"Having spoken to President Trump, I am absolutely clear that for America they want this to end in negotiations.

"Let's see Iran stop its destabilising activities in Lebanon through Hezbollah, in Yemen where they are firing missiles into Saudi Arabia, on the Gulf as we have seen.

That is the long-term solution."
"We have done our own intelligence assessment. We have got videos of what happened. We have seen evidence. We don't believe anyone else could have done this,"