The United States condemned the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's attempt to harass the British ship near the Strait of Hormuz and praised the British Royal Navy for asserting freedom of navigation and confirmed that it would continue to work with its allies to ensure that the Iranian regime is prevented from undermining maritime security and world trade. The Gulf, to provide a scheduled rotation date between two warships in the Gulf region, where the two ships will be deployed together at the present time near Iranian waters, officials said yesterday.

Separately, the State Department said in a tweet on Twitter that US President Donald Trump's administration was stepping up its efforts to counter Iran's activities and its arm in the world.

Sills said during a press conference in Argentina yesterday that Hezbollah militias are very active in the United States, and President Trump's administration continues to thwart its activities.

This comes after two well-known sources said last night that the United States has decided not to impose sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif at the moment, in a sign that Washington may leave the door open to diplomacy.

US Treasury Secretary Stephen Menuchin said on June 24 that Zarif would be put on a black list that week, an unusual public position, because the United States usually does not disclose such decisions in advance to prevent its goals from transferring assets outside US jurisdiction.

The blacklisting of the top Iranian negotiator would hamper any US effort to use diplomacy to resolve its differences with Tehran over Iran's nuclear program, missile tests and activities in the region.

The sources did not give specific reasons for the decision, which comes two months after the tension between the two countries increased due to attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf, which Washington blames on Tehran and the downing of a US aircraft by Iran, prompting President Trump to issue retaliatory air strikes before retreating. In the final moments.

"The wisdom prevailed," said one insider, speaking on condition of anonymity. We see it is not necessarily useful, "adding that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had opposed Zarif's listing" for now. "

In a sign of Washington's approach to taking action against Zarif, the US Treasury Department has circulated in its corridors a draft press release announcing sanctions against the Iranian minister.

Zarif is expected to attend a ministerial meeting at the United Nations this week on sustainable development goals, aimed at addressing issues such as conflict, hunger, gender equality and climate change by 2030.

To do so, the United States would have to grant him a visa, another sign that Washington was delaying sanctions at the moment.

In the same context, a British government spokesman said that the British Royal Navy's HMS Duncan would be evicted from existing HMS Montrose to ensure that "freedom of navigation" is maintained.

Earlier, British Prime Minister Teresa Mae's spokeswoman said yesterday that discussions between Britain and the United States were continuing to strengthen their military presence in the Gulf.

"We are in talks with the United States on strengthening our presence in the face of recent threats to navigation in the region," said Mai's spokeswoman.

A defense source said the date of the rotation was offered for a few days, without specifying how long the ships would stay together in the area.

The source added that the government raised the level of preparedness in the Iranian territorial waters for British vessels to the maximum degree.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said yesterday that Britain was not seeking to escalate the situation with Iran, as tension between London and Tehran continued because of a detained Iranian tanker and the passage of ships across the Strait of Hormuz.

"This is a reaction from us to what is happening in a calculated and cautious manner, and we make it clear to Iran that we are not trying to escalate this situation," Hunt told Sky News.

But the caution shown by the British Foreign Secretary does not hide that London is serious in the face of warnings by Iranian officials, which was translated in the last attempt to attack the British carrier «British Heritage».

The Duncan, a vessel of the British Royal Navy, "will deploy in the area to ensure the maintenance of a continuous security presence while the Montrose has stopped its mission of pre-planned maintenance and crew changes," a government spokesman said. A source added that the date of rotation was presented a few days amid the escalation of tension in the region.

Sky News reported that the Duncan, which was due to be deployed in the region anyway, but not soon, would sail to the Gulf within a few days to join the frigate.

The developments come at a time of growing tensions with Iran after Britain seized an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar and said that an Iranian vessel had tried to intercept BP's British Heritage in the Strait of Hormuz.

These developments indicate that Britain is moving to take tangible and concrete steps to face the threats launched by Iran from time to time by targeting British oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman.

A few days ago, Washington announced an initiative to form an expanded international alliance that would ensure maritime navigation in the vital corridors of world trade and oil supplies off Yemen and Iran, in the straits of Bab al-Mandab and Hormuz.

The British government was ready to discuss any US request that would support Washington in the Middle East in a declaration at the height of US-Iranian tension.

The British government said on Tuesday that three Iranian ships had tried to intercept British Herald in the Strait of Hormuz but had withdrawn after warnings from a British frigate.

But Iran has denied British accusations on its foreign minister Jawad Zarif, who said London's claims that Tehran was trying to hold a British oil tanker were "worthless."

The President of the Government of Gibraltar said yesterday that the measure taken last week by the reservation on the carrier Grass 1 was due to its violation of sanctions imposed by the European Union, and not at the request of any other State.

The British Royal Marines were guarding the tanker off the coast of Gibraltar on suspicion of violating sanctions against Syria.

Iran demanded that Britain release the tanker and deny the transfer of oil to Syria in violation of sanctions.

Later on Friday, Gibraltar police said they had arrested two other crew members of the Iranian tanker.

Britain is not seeking to escalate the situation with Iran, as tension continues because of an Iranian tanker.