Officials: Iranian boats tried to seize British oil tanker

Five Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boats attempted to seize a British oil tanker on Wednesday as it sailed out of the Persian Gulf and was crossing into the Strait of Hormuz, two U.S officials with knowledge of the incident told CNN.

The officials said the Iranians ordered the British Heritage tanker to reverse course and move into Iranian territorial waters, but a U.K. Royal Navy frigate that was escorting the tanker trained its deck guns on the Iranian boats and ordered them to back off.

At the request of the U.S. last week, British Royal Marines in Gibraltar intercepted an Iranian boat that was believed to have been carrying oil to Syria; on Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned that the United Kingdom "will see the consequences."

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