TEHRAN - In a telephone conversation with his British counterpart Jeremy Hunt on Saturday, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif insisted that the oil sanctions against Iran by the U.S. are illegal and that “the Islamic Republic of Iran will keep exporting oil under any circumstances.”

For his part, Hunt said Iran has right to export oil and voiced concern about the escalation of tensions in the region. 

The seizure of an oil tanker by Britain in Gibraltar on July 4, which was carrying the Iranian oil, was also raised in the phone.

The British foreign secretary expressed hope that the outcome of legal and judicial investigations in Gibraltar would result in the immediate release of the tanker, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a report on its website.

Pointing to the legal destination of Grace 1 tanker in east of the Mediterranean, Zarif said, “The European Union, which has always opposed the extraterritorial imposition of U.S. sanctions, cannot take such measure itself, and the UK government must immediately make the necessary arrangements to end the illegal confiscation of the Iranian oil tanker.”

Zarif also pointed to the case of Nazanin Zaghari and other dual nationals who have been arrested in Iran on security charges, saying, “The arrest and trial of these individuals have been in accordance completely with legal processes, and the UK government is expected to respect the enforcement of law and the independence of the Judiciary in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

PA/PA