MNA – A senior naval commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps says Iran will never allow the foreign forces to prance around its territorial waters.

Speaking on Saturday a day before the anniversary of detaining the British-flagged Stena Impero tanker in the southern Iranian waters, the commander of IRGC’s First Naval Region, Second Brigadier General Abbas Gholamshahi said, “We will always protect our values and national interests; we will not allow foreign forces to wander around our territorial waters.”

He warned the non-regional troops who have been trying to secure their illegal presence in the region, saying that the enemies should better know that they will not be easy for them to prance in the Persian Gulf waters.

When the UK had seized Iranian tanker in Gibraltar last year, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Seyyed Ali Khamenei warned that their vicious act will not be left unanswered.

“Less than 72 hours, our brave soldiers sieged and confiscated Stina Bulk regardless of their escort to disrupt their calculations in the international waters,” the general said.

He reiterated the Iranian armed forces’ readiness to counter any miscalculations by the enemies.

The 30,000-tonne UK-flagged Stena Impero tanker was seized by Iranian naval forces on July 19, 2019 when it ignored distress calls as it collided with a fishing boat on its route.

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said the ship had also used a wrong path to enter the Strait of Hormuz.

A day after the seizure of the Stena Impero, Iran released footage showing Iranian speedboats cruising near the tanker as a military helicopter hovered over the vessel.

Two months later, on September 24, Iran released the tanker.