The Spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Abbas Mousavi said that the UK’s seizure of Iran-operated oil tanker in Gibraltar on July 4 was in line with the hostile policies of the US against the Islamic Republic.
“We have told the British authorities that their move would increase tensions and is in line with those hostile policies of the US,” he said.
Mousavi said that Iran is calling on Britain to release its oil tanker immediately.
“This is a dangerous game and has consequences … the legal pretexts for the capture are not valid … the release of the tanker is in all countries’ interest … Foreign powers should leave the region because Iran and other regional countries are capable of securing the regional security,” the Iranian diplomat said.
“From the first day the oil tanker was seized, Iran started taking legal and diplomatic measures. We summoned the UK ambassador twice and he appeared at the Iranian foreign ministry for several other meetings to provide some explanations,” he added.
“We have given the case to a lawyer who is currently taking legal and judiciary procedures,” Mousavi informed.
Meanwhile, Mousavi said that signatories to the nuclear deal have done their best to preserve the accord, stressing that Tehran’s “next step, within the two-month deadline to Europe, is planned and will be implemented.”
“Following the steps that the Islamic Republic of Iran has taken to balance its rights against its obligations (under the deal), some measures and efforts have started by countries that are members of the JCPOA or outside of the deal,” Mousavi told the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) on Thursday.
The spokesman further pointed to the recent visit to Iran by Emmanuel Bonne, the diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, and said the visit was part of the efforts, which Iran welcomes provided that they are accompanied by “practical steps (by the other parties) to fulfill their obligations”.
Source: Iranian media
