In this July 21, 2019 photo, an aerial view shows a speedboat of Iran's Revolutionary Guard moving around the British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero which was seized in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday by the Guard, in the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. (Tasnim News Agency via AP)
TEHRAN, July 28 (Xinhua) -- "European plan to potentially deploy its naval force to the Gulf bears a hostile message," Iran's government spokesman Ali Rabiei said on Sunday.
"The security of the region should be provided by the regional states, and Iran has a pivotal role in providing this security," Rabiei said at his weekly press conference.
"We hear that they (Europeans) intend to bring a European fleet to the Gulf. We believe that such measures are dangerous under current circumstances," Rabiei said, adding that "such measures bear a hostile message and would stir tensions."
British government proposed the idea of deployment of a joint European naval mission to the Gulf last Monday to escort oil tankers.
Last week, Iran seized the British oil tanker Stena Impero at the Strait of Hormuz after the UK authorities detained an Iranian oil tanker earlier this month at the Strait of Gibraltar on the allegations that "it was breaching EU sanctions on Syria."
Iran has denied that its tanker was heading to Syria, saying that Stena Impero was only captured for "violating maritime regulations."
