Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani has told the UK it faces “consequences” after British forces seized an Iranian oil tanker off Gibraltar.
The Grace 1 was boarded by Royal Marines last week over accusations it was breaking sanctions by taking an estimated two million barrels of crude oil to Syria.
“You (Britain) are the initiator of insecurity and you will realise the consequences later,” Rouhani said after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the semi-official news agency Tasnim reported.
Tehran has called for the vessel, a supertanker, to be released immediately.
Mr Rouhani defended his government’s decision to increase uranium enrichment, insisting it was for peaceful aims, such as fuelling power plants, and was within the framework of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
On Monday, the UK called on Iran to “immediately stop and reverse all activities” which have put it in breach of its nuclear deal.
The Foreign Office said Tehran’s announcement that it will start uranium enrichment above a limit of 3.67% put it in breach of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
