Iranian official warns of 'strong' response if security threatened

An Iranian official warned of a "strong" response to any move that threatens Tehran's security, an Iranian news agency said on Monday, after the United States, Britain and Israel blamed Iran for an attack on an Israeli-managed tanker.

Iran has denied any involvement in the attack off the coast of Oman last week in which two crew members - a Briton and a Romanian - were killed.

"Although Iran considers the threats of Western officials and the Zionist regime (Israel) to be more of a propaganda gesture, any action against Iran's national interests and security will be met with a strong and decisive response," the unnamed official told Nournews news agency.

"And Washington and London will be directly responsible for the consequences," the official told Nournews, which is close to Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

The United States and Britain said on Sunday they would work with their partners to respond to last week's attack on the Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned petroleum product tanker managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime.

Britain said it was highly likely that Iran carried out the attack, using one or two drones. (Writing by Parisa Hafezi, Editing by Timothy Heritage)