Referring to the downing of the US drone in the Persian Gulf, Brigadier General Amir Hatami said, "The intelligent response of the armed forces to this aggression demonstrates the Islamic Republic's authority in terms of defense and deterrence.
"When a ship carrying Iran's oil is wrongly seized, we immediately deal with their illegal action in the Persian Gulf, which means Iran's will and the ability to respond to any threat", Brigadier General Hatami added.
The UK-flagged tanker Stena Impero has been seized in the Strait of Hurmuz by Iran's coastguards not for retaliation, said Iran’s government spokesman Ali Rabiei on Monday.
Iranian armed forces shot down a US drone while flying over Iran's territorial waters a month ago.
A senior Iranian Ports and Maritime Department official said on Saturday that the UK oil tanker was seized for violation of the International Law of the Sea and ignoring the principle of passage without causing damage to the environment.
"The British vessel hit a trawler, which needs to be investigated," said the Director-General of the Ports and Maritime Department of Hormuzgan province Allahmorad Afifipour.
Grace 1, a supertanker carrying Iranian oil, was seized earlier this month by British Royal Marines off the coast of the British Mediterranean territory of Gibraltar on suspicion of violating sanctions on Syria.
The seizure of tanker carrying Iranian oil drew strong reaction from the Iranian officials.
"Unlike the piracy in the Strait of Gibraltar, Our action in the Persian Gulf is to uphold international maritime rule," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said.
He said that the UK must cease being an accessory to US' economic terrorism.
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