TEHRAN has warned the United States and Israel against blocking an Iranian fuel tanker after it entered the Mediterranean Sea yesterday, two weeks after it set sail for Lebanon.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh insisted that it was not within Washington’s gift to stop Iran from helping alleviate Lebanon’s deepening fuel crisis, worsened due to US sanctions.

“The US is not in a position to block legitimate trade. We are very serious about exercising our sovereignty, and everyone should know that legitimate trade in this sphere is one of the basic principles of international law,” he said.