Iran threatens UK and US after Marines storm ship near Gibraltar ‘they will regret it'

The vessel, the Grace 1, was boarded off Gibraltar and seized last week on suspicion that it was breaking EU sanctions by taking oil to Syria. Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, a deputy Guards commander, told the semi-official Tasnim news agency: “Now an action that does not need ability but some stupidity has been carried out by them. “The American government and also England should not have taken action if they had made the smallest calculation.

“We had rented this ship and we carried the cargo.

“Their action was very silly and they will certainly regret it. Our

reciprocal action will be announced.”

Speaking last week, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani warned Britain and the US: “You are the initiator of insecurity and you will realise the consequences later.”

Iran has denied any responsibility for attempts to intercept a British tanker, BP’s British Heritage, in the Straits of Hormuz, with the Ministry of Defence saying three Iranian vessels had abandoned the attempt after being warned off by HMS Montrose.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif said: “Apparently the British tanker has passed.

“What they have said themselves and the claims that have been made are for creating tension and these claims have no value.”

A statement issued via the Revolutionary Guard’s Sepah news agency said: “There has been no confrontation in the last 24 hours with any foreign vessels, including British ones.”

The stand off followed a warning by US President Donald Trump that US sanctions on Iran would soon be “substantially” increased as part of Washington’s drive to curb Iran’s nuclear activities and regional behaviour.

Heightened tensions between Britain and Iran have prompted concerns other vessels in the Middle East could be similarly targeted.

ITV correspondent Richard Gaisford said earlier: “Things in the Strait of Hormuz are not easy at all now for international shipping.

“It’s a stretch of water that runs between Oman and Iran.

“It’s a narrow stretch really – about the width of the English Channel/

“But it’s vital to global shipping – about 21 million barrels of oil worth about $1 billion pass through it every day and a number of tankers have been targeted in recent weeks as tensions with Iran escalate.”

Tensions with Iran have been escalating even since Mr Trump pulled his country out of the Joint Plan of Comprehensive Action (JPOCA) deal last year, accusing Tehran of violating the agreement.

The US has since imposed tough new sanctions on Iran targeting its oil exports.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tehran his country’s fighter jets could reach anywhere in the Middle East in a clip filmed in front of an F-35.

source: express.co.uk