An Iranian official has said a British oil tanker should be seized, if an Iranian tanker detained off Gibraltar earlier this week is not released immediately.

“If Britain does not release the Iranian oil tanker, it is the authorities duty to seize a British oil tanker,” said Revolutionary Guards Major General Mohsen Rezaee, who is also secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council, a powerful state body.

“Islamic Iran in its 40-year history has never initiated hostilities in any battles but has also never hesitated in responding to bullies,” Rezaee said  Friday on his Twitter account.

British Royal Marines seized the giant Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar on Thursday for trying to take oil to Syria allegedly in violation of EU sanctions, a dramatic step that could escalate its confrontation with the West.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the move as ‘piracy’ and ‘illegal’, accusing the UK of acting at the behest of the United States.

Source: Agencies