Iran's national flag waves in northern Tehran, Iran, March 31, 2020. (PHOTO / AP)

TEHRAN - The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday summoned British Ambassador to Iran Simon Shercliff to strongly protest Britain's recent "baseless" accusations and "illegal" sanctions against Iran.

The British envoy was summoned by Director General of Western Europe at the Iranian Foreign Ministry Majid Nili Ahmadabadi, following "accusations by Britain's regime against the Islamic Republic of Iran," said a statement published on the ministry's website.

The statement did not specify the British accusations, but Shercliff was summoned after Britain on Monday imposed sanctions on a number of Iranian officials, including members of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.

London claimed that some of the Iranian officials had been "involved in threats to kill journalists on the British soil" while others were "part of international criminal gangs linked to Iran."

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak earlier on Monday said he was concerned about tensions in the Middle East and urged Iran to de-escalate.

Sunak made the remarks in response to an attack that killed on Saturday three US service members in northeastern Jordan near Syria's border, which US President Joe Biden blamed on "Iran-backed groups."

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani stressed that Iran's principled policy has always been based on strengthening relations with its neighbors within the framework of the principles of good neighborliness and mutual respect

Ahmadabadi also criticized "illegal" British sanctions imposed on Iran under "unreal pretexts," while strongly condemning British officials' "baseless and unfounded" accusations against Tehran.

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Separately, Iran on Tuesday denounced the recent remarks about its role in the region by Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Jens Stoltenberg as "baseless" accusations.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani rejected the NATO chief's accusations in a statement published on the Iranian Foreign Ministry's website.

"NATO and some of its members, with their dark track records of colonialism, designing and implementing destructive and meddlesome policies and also military actions in West Asia and other geographical regions, are the main causes of instability and insecurity, not only in the region but also the entire world," the Iranian spokesman said.

He stressed that Iran's principled policy has always been based on strengthening relations with its neighbors within the framework of the principles of good neighborliness and mutual respect.

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In remarks at a press conference on Monday, Stoltenberg criticized Iran for continuing to "destabilize the region," adding that Iran also "bears the responsibility for backing terrorists who attack ships in the Red Sea."

The Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen have been attacking ships related to Israel in the Red Sea since the outbreak of the Israeli conflict with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) last October, in a move to support the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

In response, the United States and Britain have recently launched airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen to deter the group from further attacks on the international shipping line in the Red Sea.