Senior Cleric on UK Seizure of Iranian Vessel: We Will Never Remain Silent against Bullying

Senior Iranian cleric Mohammad Ali Mousavi Jazayeri has warned that the UK should prepare to face consequences for Thursday’s seizure of the Grace 1 oil tanker off the coast of Gibraltar.

“I am openly saying that Britain should be scared of Iran’s retaliatory measures over the illegal seizure of the Iranian oil tanker,” Jazyeri, a member of the influential Assembly of Experts said, as quoted by Fars News Agency.

“We have shown that we will never remain silent against bullying…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,” the cleric added, without offering any more details.

Earlier, a contingent of Gibraltar-based UK Royal Marines seized a supertanker reportedly carrying Iranian crude oil to a refinery in Syria, with London claiming the seizure was aimed at enforcing EU sanctions against Damascus.

Tehran blasted the move, calling it “a form of piracy.”

On Friday, Mohsen Rezaee, a former senior officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, warned that Iran could retaliate by seizing a British oil tanker unless the Grace 1 was immediately released.