Iran Warns US: Seizing Oil Tankers Will Trigger Retaliation

An informed security official has warned that if Washington uses the 'prize courts' mechanism to seize Iranian oil tankers and confiscate their cargoes, Iran will take swift and serious action to impose reciprocal costs on U.S. interests in the Persian Gulf.

The warning comes after reports emerged that the U.S. Department of Justice is working to revive the 'prize courts,' an old legal mechanism that has effectively fallen into disuse since World War II.

The security official stressed, 'If the United States intends to seize Iranian oil at sea and then confiscate it under the pretext of wartime prize, it must be prepared for U.S. interests to become subject to reciprocal action.'

He noted that U.S. interests in shipping, energy, insurance, financing, and related infrastructure in the Persian Gulf 'will not be immune from the consequences' of such an action.