Iranians never won a war, but never lost a negotiation: Trump

In a cryptic message to Iran amid rising tensions in the Gulf, US president Donald Trump said that Iranians have "never won a war".

"Just remember, the Iranians never won a war, but never lost a negotiation!, the US president said in a tweet.

US president Trump who had pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran last year has imposed new sanctions againt Rouhani's government in the past few months leading to increased tensions in the Gulf with attack on tankers and downing of a US survellence drone by Iran's Republican Guards.

On Sunday, Iran termed Britain's move to send a European naval mission to escort tankers as "provocative" even as the UK government and Iran kept up the war of words over tanker seizure by the both sides.

Iran added that it considered Britain's seizure of an Iranian oil tanker a "breach" of the ailing 2015 nuclear deal,

Meanwhile, France said it was not willing to send extra military assets to the Gulf, but would share information and coordinate its currently deployed assets.

British authorities had detained an Iranian tanker the Grace 1 off its overseas territory Gibraltar with Iran taking control of British ship Stena Impero as tensions mounted between the two countries.

Iran government spokesman said it believed the country's security had to be maintained by countries in the region. Last week, Britain ordered its navy to escort UK-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz, where the Stena Impero was seized by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard.

The 33-kilometre (22-mile) wide Strait of Hormuz provides the eastern entrance and exit point into the Gulf and runs between the United Arab Emirates and Iran.