UK says rightly concerned about protecting goods in Strait of Hormuz

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is rightly concerned about protecting its goods in the Strait of Hormuz, defence minister Penny Mordaunt said on Thursday following tensions with Iran over the passage of vessels in the Gulf.

Relations between Tehran and the West have been increasingly strained after Britain seized an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar and London said the British Heritage, operated by oil company BP, had been approached in the strait between Iran and the Arabian peninsula.

"We are rightly concerned about protecting our goods in the Straits of Hormuz," she said.

(Reporting by William James; writing by Costas Pitas; editing by Kate Holton)