Tehran: Iran's Revolutionary Guards denied on Thursday that they had impeded a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, the force's Sepah news agency said. "There has been no confrontation in the last 24 hours with any foreign vessels, including British ones," the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement.

Britain said on Thursday three Iranian boats had attempted to "impede the passage" of a British oil tanker in Gulf waters, forcing UK warship HMS Montrose to intervene. The Guards' statement said that if they were ordered to seize foreign vessels they would do so "immediately, decisively and speedily". The incident follows the detention of an Iranian oil tanker by Britain on July 4 off the coast of Gibraltar, a tiny British overseas territory on Spain's southern tip.