Iran’s envoy to Britain on Sunday urged the UK to contain “domestic political forces” which he said wanted to escalate tension between the two countries amid the capture of a British-flagged tanker in the Gulf by Iran.

“UK government should contain those domestic political forces who want to escalate existing tension between Iran and the UK well beyond the issue of ships. This is quite dangerous and unwise at a sensitive time in the region,” Hamid Baeidinejad tweeted.

“Iran however is firm and ready for different scenarios.”