British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the attack on the Israeli ship is terrible, and that Iran must bear the consequences. Johnson's comments came amid a continuing Iranian Western escalation over the ship.

Johnson added that Iran should respect freedom of navigation around the world.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Chargé d'Affairs of the British Embassy in Tehran to protest against his country's statements regarding the attack on the Israeli tanker Mercer Street.

The British Foreign Office had summoned the Iranian ambassador to London after accusing Tehran of targeting the ship.

A State Department spokesperson said in a statement that Iran's Ambassador, Mohsen Baharvand, "was summoned to the State Department by Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs James Cleverly, following the unlawful attack against Mercer Street on 29 July."

British Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa James Cleverly told Al Jazeera that he assured the ambassador that Iran must immediately stop its actions that threaten international peace and security, stressing that ships must be allowed to sail freely in accordance with international law.

The government held a special meeting over the weekend to discuss the attack on the Mercer Street tanker operated by an Israeli company.

In this context, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab expressed his belief that this attack was deliberate and a clear violation of international law by Iran.

Raab noted that the UK is working with its international allies on a joint response to this unacceptable attack.

The Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, General Aviv Kohavi, had a telephone conversation with his British counterpart Sir Nick Carter yesterday, in which they discussed recent events in the region.

On Sunday, Tel Aviv, Washington and London accused Tehran of being behind an attack on an oil tanker, operated by the Zodiac Maritime Company, owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer, which led to the killing of two of its crew, one British and one Romanian.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accused Tehran of "trying to shirk responsibility" for Thursday's incident, and called its denials a "cowardly" act.

On Sunday, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said that the incident required a strong response.

The oil tanker Mercer Street - operated by ZODIAC Maritime, owned by an Israeli businessman - was attacked off the coast of Oman, killing two of its crew;

Romanian and British, according to a statement issued by the company.

No party claimed the attack, but the company, Dryad Global, which specializes in maritime security, spoke of "new reprisals in the war that is taking place in secret between the two powers", that is, Iran and Israel.


Iran warns of a threat to its security

In response to the Israeli, American and British statements, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday that Iran would respond quickly to any threat to its security, after the United States, Britain and Israel blamed Tehran for an attack on an Israeli-operated tanker off Oman.

Iran denies any role in Thursday's attack, in which two crew members, a Briton and a Romanian, were killed.

"Iran does not hesitate to protect its security and national interests and will respond without delay and forcefully to any possible adventure," Iranian state television quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh as saying.

The television said that Khatibzadeh "feels very sorry for the baseless accusations made by the British Foreign Office against Iran, which were repeated by the US State Department in the same context, and included contradictory, incorrect and provocative accusations."

Tensions between the two countries have escalated since 2018, when former US President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers, and re-imposed sanctions that paralyzed the Iranian economy.

Israel expresses its concerns about the efforts of Tehran and the administration of US President Joe Biden to revive the nuclear agreement concluded in 2015, which stipulates that Iran reduce its sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.