Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic called Britain’s seizure of Iranian supertanker in Gibraltar an act of piracy and warned that it will not go unanswered.

In a speech for Friday-Prayer Imams on Tuesday, July 16, Khamenei said: “Evil Britain commits piracy and steals our ship. They commit a crime and frame it legally.”

The Iranian supertanker “Grace 1” was delivering oil to Syria, a violation of EU sanctions against the country, when it was detained by British forces in Gibraltar.

“Of course the faithful agents of the Islamic Republic will not let these actions go unanswered and will respond to it in an appropriate time and place,” says the leader of the Islamic Republic.

In recent days, several Islamic Republic military officials have suggested that Iran must seize a British tanker in response. A few days ago the British government announced that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had tried to seize a British tanker near the Strait of Hormuz.

Khamenei also claimed that the Islamic Republic has complied with its commitments to the nuclear deal while the Europeans have not.

“Now that we have started to scale-back our compliance, they are moving forward. The nerve!” said Ali Khamenei.

The leader also warned: “You Europeans have not complied with any of your commitments, how dare you ask us to comply with ours? Be aware that we have just begun to scale back with our compliance, and this process will continue.”