Cleric: UK should be ‘scared’ of Tehran’s response over tanker

DUBAI (Reuters) – Britain should be “scared” about Tehran’s possible retaliation for the capture of an Iranian supertanker by the Royal Marines in Gibraltar, an Iranian cleric said on Sunday, as reported by the semi-official Fars news agency.

“I am openly saying that Britain should be scared of Iran’s retaliatory measures over the illegal seizure of the Iranian oil tanker,” said Mohammad Ali Mousavi Jazayeri, a member

of the powerful Assembly of Experts clerical body. “We have shown that we will never remain silent against bullying,” he said. “As we gave a staunch response to the American drone, the appropriate response to this illegal capture [of the tanker] will be given by Iran as well.”

On Thursday, British Royal Marines seized the supertanker Grace 1 for attempting to deliver oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions, a move which drew Tehran’s fury and could escalate its confrontation with the West.

Iran downed a US military drone on June 20 that it claimed was flying over one of its southern provinces on the Gulf. Washington, however, said the drone was shot down over international waters. An Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander threatened on Friday to seize a British ship in retaliation for the capture of the Iranian supertanker.

The UK-flagged supertanker Pacific Voyager that halted in the Gulf on Saturday is “safe and well,” a British official told Reuters, after Iran dismissed reports that its Revolutionary Guards had seized the vessel. Mapping by Refinitiv Eikon showed that the Pacific Voyager stopped in the Gulf en route to Saudi Arabia from Singapore before resuming its course.

US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May discussed ways to maintain pressure on Iran during a phone call on Friday, the White House said in a statement on Saturday. The statement, which did not mention the tanker incident, said: “They discussed cooperation... to advance shared national security interests, including efforts to enforce sanctions on Syria; to ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon; and to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea.”

Washington’s envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, is headed to talks with European officials in Brussels and Berlin this week, the State Department said on Saturday, after Trump’s recent meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Demilitarized Zone at Panmunjom, where they agreed to resume stalled nuclear talks.

Tensions are high in the Gulf following last month’s attacks on vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping route, and Iran’s downing of a US drone. Washington and Saudi Arabia have directly blamed Iran for the attacks on tankers, which is something Tehran denies. The attacks have raised fears of a broader confrontation in the region where the US has boosted its military presence over perceived Iranian threats. •