Iran “must face up to the consequences of what they have done”, Boris Johnson has warned after Tehran was blamed for a drone attack which killed a British security guard.
The Prime Minister lashed out after the Iranian ambassador in London was hauled into the Foreign Office for a dressing down after a UK national died in an “outrageous” attack on the oil tanker MV Mercer Street off the coast of Oman.
The ship's Romanian captain was also killed in the strike, and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has accused Iran of being behind the atrocity, which the regime denies.
Speaking on a visit to Airbus in Stevenage, Herts, Mr Johnson said: “Iran should face up to the consequences of what they have done and accept the attribution that the Foreign Secretary has made.
“This is clearly an unacceptable and outrageous attack on commercial shipping – a UK national died.
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“It is absolutely vital that Iran and every other country respects the freedoms of navigation around the world, and the UK will continue to insist on that.”
Tehran's top diplomat in Britain was summoned to Whitehall on Monday for a meeting with Mr Raab's deputy, James Cleverly.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The Iranian Ambassador to the UK, Mohsen Baharvand, was summoned today to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office by the Minister for the Middle East, James Cleverly, in response to the unlawful attack committed on MV Mercer Street on July 29.
"Minister Cleverly reiterated that Iran must immediately cease actions that risk international peace and security, and reinforced that vessels must be allowed to navigate freely in accordance with international law.”
Tensions ramped up at the weekend after the Foreign Secretary accused Iran of being behind the "unlawful and callous attack".
"We believe this attack was deliberate, targeted, and a clear violation of international law by Iran," he said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said Washington was also "confident that Iran conducted this".
"UK assessments have concluded that it is highly likely that Iran attacked the MV Mercer Street in international waters off Oman on July 29 using one or more unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)."
But Iran has denied involvement in the attack.
"Iran has no hesitation in protecting its security and national interests and will respond promptly and strongly to any possible adventure," Iranian state television quoted foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh as saying.
He said he "strongly regretted the baseless accusations made by the British foreign secretary against Iran, which were repeated by the US secretary of state in the same context and contained contradictory, false and provocative accusations".
The Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned ship is managed by London-based Zodiac Maritime, owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer.
The strike on the Mercer Street was the first known fatal attack after years of assaults on commercial shipping in the region linked to tensions between Israel and Iran.
The 28,400-tonne vessel was sailing from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates with no cargo onboard when she was targeted, suffering damage to her bridge.
The US Navy Fifth Fleet said explosive experts believed a drone strike targeted the 600ft tanker.
An American warship escorted her to safety.
British maritime security firm Ambrey said the attack, which saw a hole blasted through the vessel's bridge, killed one of its employees aboard.
