"Barry, they have Iraqi consent AND a UN mandate to monitor shipping there.
They were acting legally."

Not if they were in Iranian waters. Therefore they should've steered clear of disputed territorial waters just knowing that the trouble it would impose. As far as boarding shipping for inspection does the UN sanctions provide a clause for blockading of Iranian ports & whom & what does it restrict in it's trading, cars, from where? Will it be food next?
Bottom line is that they (the Brits) knew the boundries were disputed & they should have steered clear of those areas so as not to provoke an international incident. They didn't, they pushed the envolope, so there you go, where else does the fault for starting this lay?

No matter what anyone says, no foreign military belongs inside the borders or waters of Iran.

Barry

Barry