Iran on Sunday condemned the United Kingdom's proposal for a European-led naval mission in the Persian Gulf as "provocative."
"We heard that they intend to send a European fleet to the Persian Gulf, which naturally carries a hostile message, is provocative and will increase tensions," government spokesman Ali Rabiei was quoted as saying by the Iran's ISNA news agency.
The UK said on Monday that it was planning to launch a European-led force to protect shipping in the Gulf in response to Iran's seizure of a UK-flagged oil tanker on July 19.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boarded the Stena Impero in the strategic Strait of Hormuz after claiming that the ship failed to respond to distress calls and turned off its transponder after hitting a fishing boat.
The British government has been criticized about why it had not taken more proactive measures to protect its ships.
The seizure of the Stena Impero came two weeks after British Royal Marines impounded the Iranian supertanker Grace 1 off Gibraltar because of allegations that it was transporting oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions.
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