Near the top of Boris Johnson's in-box: Iran tanker standoff

LONDON (AP) — Boris Johnson's premiership will no doubt end up being judged by Brexit, but that won't come to a head just yet. Perhaps the most immediate problem in his in-tray as he enters 10 Downing Street is the continued presence of a British-flagged oil tanker in a heavily-guarded Iranian port.

The Stena Impero was seized by Iranian forces Friday while transiting the vital Strait of Hormuz — providing the first test for Johnson on becoming prime minister Wednesday afternoon.

Though Johnson has said military action is not on the agenda, it's unclear what strategy he will pursue to get the ship out.

During the final days of Theresa May's premiership, Britain has sought to cobble together an as-yet-undefined "Europe-led force" that could protect shipping in the waterway, which transports one-fifth of the world's crude oil supply.

It's not clear whether the plan formulated by British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt to form an alliance with France, Germany and other European nations to keep the waterway open is gaining traction.

French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Agnes Von der Muhll has spoken of putting in place an "appropriate means of surveillance" aimed at "increased understanding of the situation at sea" to keep shipping moving in the face of the threat of Iranian intervention.

There was one hopeful sign Wednesday: A large British-flagged vessel transited the Strait of Hormuz and arrived at a port in Qatar in the first such passage made by a British ship of its size since the Stena Impero seizure last week, according to maritime tracking data.

In Iran, President Hassan Rouhani suggested a way to defuse the crisis would be for Britain and Gibraltar to release an Iranian supertanker seized off the coast of Gibraltar on July 4 on suspicion that it was violating...