The US Navy's 5th Fleet said on Thursday it is working closely with the British Royal Navy as well as regional and global partners to preserve and defend the freedom of navigation, a day after three Iranian vessels tried to block a British-flagged tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
"The United States 5th Fleet is aware of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy's unlawful harassment and attempts to interfere with the passage of the UK-flagged merchant vessel British Heritage on 10 July, near the Strait of Hormuz," Vice Admiral Jim Malloy, commander of the US 5th Fleet, added in a statement.
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Last week, British Royal Marines boarded an Iranian tanker, the Grace 1, off Gibraltar and seized it on suspicion that it was breaking EU sanctions by taking oil to Syria.
Earlier Thursday, a deputy commander of the IRGC warned Britain and the US that they would regret detaining the Iranian oil tanker.
"The American government … and also England … should not have taken action if they had made the smallest calculation," said Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi.
"We had rented this ship and we carried the cargo. Their action was very foolish and they will certainly regret it. Our reciprocal action will be announced," he said.
Earlier this, meanwhile, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford announced the US was moving ahead with plans to build a coalition of nations to monitor and deter Iranian threats against commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf.
Dunford said the Pentagon has developed a specific plan and that he believes it will be clear within a couple of weeks which nations are willing to join the effort.
Dunford said he discussed the matter Tuesday with acting Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and that plans are coming together.
"We're getting ready now to move out," Dunford told a small group of reporters at Fort Myer, Virginia. "We have a pretty clear concept of what we want to do."
