TEHRAN – Iranian Navy is ready to escort the Adrian Darya 1 oil tanker if necessary, says Habibollah Sayyari, the deputy army chief for coordination affairs.

The Army’s naval forces are ready to escort the Adrian Darya 1 if it is required by the country’s authorities, Rear Admiral Sayyari said on Sunday, according to Mehr.

On July 4, Britain’s naval forces unlawfully seized the vessel, then known as Grace 1, and its cargo of 2.1 million barrels of oil in the Strait of Gibraltar on the pretext that the supertanker had been suspected of carrying crude to Syria in violation of the European Union’s unilateral sanctions against the war-torn country.

Tehran, however, rejected London’s claim, slamming the seizure as “maritime piracy”.

On August 16, Gibraltar’s government announced it was releasing the supertanker despite pressure from the U.S. for the vessel’s continued detainment.

Soon after the announcement, the U.S. Department of Justice unveiled a warrant for the seizure of the ship. Gibraltar, however, knocked back the request.

The United States has also threatened to aggressively enforce its sanctions on those potentially assisting the supertanker.

“The shipping sector is on notice that we will aggressively enforce U.S. sanctions,” a State Department official told Reuters on Thursday.

In his Sunday remarks, Sayyari said Iran has many options to choose from in order to deal with the enemy’s threats.

“The enemies should know that if they conduct any aggression against the Army and the armed forces, they will definitely face a crushing response,” he said.

He also pointed to the unveiling of a long-range surface-to-air missile system, dubbed “Bavar-373”, saying, “No one believed that the children of the Islamic Revolution would be able to reach this technology.”

On Thursday, Iran unveiled the missile system, saying it was developed as Iran needed a missile system stronger than the Russian S-300, given the increasing threats against the country.

President Hassan Rouhani, who attended the ceremony, hailed the production of the advanced missile system, reiterating that Bavar-373 is more powerful than S-300 missile system and is more like S-400.

Bavar-373 is a mobile missile defense system designed to intercept and destroy incoming hostile targets. The system employs missiles that have a maximum range of 300 kilometers. The system is capable of simultaneously detecting up to 300 targets, tracking 60 targets at once and engaging six targets at a time.

MH/PA