FILE PHOTO: Britain's Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt leaves Downing Street in London, Britain June 11, 2019. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
LONDON (Reuters) - British defence minister Penny Mordaunt said on Thursday the Royal Navy had upheld international law by helping a merchant oil tanker pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier, the British government said three Iranian vessels tried to block the passage of a BP-operated tanker but withdrew after warnings from a British warship.
"I would like to thank the Royal Navy for their professionalism, which upheld international law and supported freedom of navigation through a shipping channel that is vital to global trade," Mordaunt said in a statement posted on Twitter.
(Reporting by William James, editing by Elizabeth Piper)
