TEHRAN – Abbasali Kadkhodaei, spokesman of the Guardian Council, has said the seizure of a tanker carrying Iranian oil by Britain shows that the country is still pursuing its policy of piracy.

“The seizure of the property of other societies is the policy of England,” Kadkhodaei said in a tweet on Friday night.

“The 1917 disaster and death of 9 million Iranians, confiscation of Iranian money despite the rulings of its domestic courts, and now the seizure of Iran’s commercial ship all show that this country is still pursuing its policy of piracy and is in practice not adhering to Barjam (2015 nuclear deal),” he added.

The British Royal Marines seized an Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar on Thursday for trying to take oil to Syria allegedly in violation of EU sanctions, a dramatic step that could escalate tensions between Iran and the West.

Hours later, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned Britain’s ambassador to Tehran, Rob Macaire, over the act.

The Foreign Ministry described the UK move as unacceptable and called for an immediate release of the tanker, given that it has been seized at the request of the U.S., the ministry said in a report on its website.

Secretary of the Expediency Council (EC) said Iran should seize a British oil tanker if London doesn’t release the Iranian tanker which was illegally seized by its forces.

“The Islamic Revolution has never been an initiator of tension during its 40-year-old history, however, it has not hesitated to respond to bullies and thugs,” Mohsen Rezaee tweeted on Friday. 

The former IRGC chief added, “If Britain doesn’t return the Iranian tanker, the duty of responsible [Iranian] bodies is to seize a British oil tanker in a retaliatory measure.”

MH/PA