Iran Press/Iran news: "As I said in NY, it is IRAN that guarantees the security of the Persian Gulf & the Strait of Hormuz," Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet on Saturday.
"Unlike the piracy in the Strait of Gibraltar, our action in the Persian Gulf is to uphold int'l maritime rules," he added according to Iran Press.
Iran's foreign minister noted, "UK must cease being an accessory to #EconomicTerrorism of the US."
Zarif tweet came as a diplomatic stand-off played out between Tehran and London after Britain’s Royal Marines unlawfully seized an Iranian oil tanker just off the coast of Gibraltar on 4 July.
The Grace 1 supertanker, carrying 2.1 million barrels of oil, was seized on 4th July as it was passing through international waters off the coast of Gibraltar, which is located on Spain's southern tip.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) impounded the British oil tanker Stena Impero on Friday when it was passing through the Strait of Hormuz en route to Saudi Arabia "for failing to respect international maritime rules.”
Allah-Morad Afifipoor, head of Ports and Maritime Organization in southern Hormozgan Province, said on Saturday that British oil tanker was involved in an accident with an Iranian fishing boat and ignored its distress call before it was seized by IRGC navy. 101/211
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