As tensions in the Persian Gulf continue to escalate after British forces seized an Iranian oil tanker last week, Iran on Friday called on the U.K. to release the vessel and demanded that Western powers get out of the region immediately.

“This is a dangerous game and has consequences. The legal pretexts for the capture are not valid… The release of the tanker is in all countries’ interests.”
—Abbas Mousavi, Iranian Foreign Ministry

“This is a dangerous game and has consequences,” said Abbas Mousavi, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry. “The legal pretexts for the capture are not valid… The release of the tanker is in all countries’ interests.”

Mousavi went on to urge foreign powers to “leave the region” to avert a full-blown conflict.

“Iran and other regional countries are capable of securing the regional security,” Mousavi said. “Iran has repeatedly expressed its readiness to hold talks with its neighbors to resolve disputes.”

Mousavi’s comments came just 24 hours after the U.K. accused Iran of attempting to block the passage of a British tanker in the Persian Gulf.

British authorities said a U.K. warship trained its deck guns on three Iranian boats and forced them to retreat.

The Iranian government denied that it attempted to impede the British tanker.

“They make such claims to create tension, yet these claims are worthless and they have made many such claims,” Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told reporters on Thursday. “They say such things to cover up their own weaknesses.”