“It is high time that countries stopped following the US’ illogical orders,” wrote the Spokesman for the Iranian government, Ali Rabiei, in a tweet on Saturday.
He added that “Britain must understand that sending warships to the Persian Gulf cannot be a guarantee for security.”
“Throughout history, security has been guaranteed only through diplomacy and mutual respect,” he stressed.
His tweet followed a phone conversation between Iranian and British foreign ministers over the issue, during which Zarif called on Britain to accelerate efforts meant to release an Iranian oil tanker, and Jeremy Hunt according to his tweet, that “UK would facilitate release if we received guarantees that it would not be going to Syria.”
The phone conversation took place ten days after British naval forces seized the Iran-operated Grace 1 supertanker off the coast of Gibraltar on alleged suspicion of carrying crude oil to Syria, which has been under EU sanctions since 2011.
Spain, which challenges the British ownership of Gibraltar, has, however, said the seizure was prompted by a US request to Britain and appeared to have taken place in Spanish waters.
The Islamic Republic has condemned the seizure as “maritime piracy,” vowing to employ all its political and legal capacities to secure the release of the vessel.
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