TEHRAN – The Islamic Revolution Guards Crops (IRGC) on Monday released audio and video footages warning a British Royal Navy warship to stay out of way as IRGC boats move to seize a UK-flagged oil tanker in the Persian Gulf.

Iranian forces seized the British tanker near the Strait of Hormuz on July 19, after it tried to flee the scene of a major collision with an Iranian fishing boat.

In the audio clip, British warship HMS Montrose (F-236) is heard declaring its position “in the vicinity of international waters” as it escorts the oil tanker Stena Impero.

“British warship Foxtrot 236, this is Sepah [IRGC] navy patrol boat: you are required not to interfere in this issue,” an Iranian naval officer can be heard saying, according to the video which was included in a report by Tasnim news agency.

An officer on board the warship responds: “This is British warship Foxtrot 236: I am in vicinity of an internationally recognized strait with a merchant vessel in my vicinity conducting transit passage.”

The Iranian officer replies: “British warship Foxtrot 236, this is Sepah navy patrol boat: don’t put your life in danger.”

The IRGC also released recordings of another incident on July 10.

“This is British warship Foxtrot 236, go ahead,” a British naval officer can be heard saying.

His Iranian counterpart responds by saying: “British warship Foxtrot 236, this is Sepah navy warship... your tanker British Heritage under my control. You are ordered do not to interference in my operation.”

Tension emerged between Tehran and London after British troops seized an Iranian oil supertanker in international waters off Gibraltar. 

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi told reporters on Monday that London’s move in impounding the Grace 1 tanker amounted to a breach of the nuclear deal that Iran signed with the UK and five countries in 2015.

He said the issue came up during a meeting of the representatives of the remaining parties to the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in Vienna on Sunday.

“They [Europeans] made some arguments,” Mousavi said. “Iran has billed this action illegal and repeatedly said that it amounts to piracy.”

Speaking in the same vein, Mousavi pointed to a recent trip by Omani Foreign Minister Yousef bin Alawi to Tehran and said Iran always works with other regional countries to ensure the safety of shipping in the Persian Gulf region.

SP/PA