Tehran Warns US, UK Against Approaching Iran's Waters During Naval Drills

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Iranian Navy Commander Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari issued a warning on Monday for the naval forces of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France ahead of their scheduled drills in the Persian Gulf, saying that they should not "dare to enter" Iran’s territorial waters.

"Anyone who wants to stage wargames in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman doesn’t dare to enter our territorial waters," Sayyari said as quoted by Iran’s Fars News Agency.

Sayyari further reminded the western powers that his navy would have held a total of 95 military exercises by the end of March, all of which would have been held in free waters "without approaching other countries’ territorial waters."

The UK-led naval drills are scheduled to run for three days, and will kick off on Tuesday.

Tensions between Iran and the United States rose dramatically since Friday, when US President Donald Trump signed an executive order blocking all travel of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran. In response, Tehran has said that it would consider "reciprocal measures" to protect the rights of its citizens.