Earlier, British Royal Marines and officials from the British colony of Gibraltar detained a vessel suspected of transporting oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions, APA reports citing Sputnik.
The Iranian foreign ministry has summoned UK Ambassador to Iran Nicolas Hopton over what it described as the "illegal seizure" of an Iranian oil tanker, Iranian state television has reported, citing Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abbas Mousavi.
Earlier, Spanish officials said that the Grace 1, a Panamanian-flagged tanker carrying Iranian oil to Syria and seized by British patrol ships off Gibralter, was detained on US orders.
Prime Minister Theresa May later praised the seizure, with a Number 10 spokesperson saying Gibralter officials' actions had sent a 'clear message' that the UK would not tolerate the violation of sanctions.
Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said there was evidence to suggest the tanker was attempting to deliver crude oil to the Banyas Refinery in northwest Syria, in breach of Eu sanctions against Syria. The EU slapped the war-torn country with hard-hitting economic and energy sanctions in 2011.
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