Tehran, Dec 29 (IANS): Iran will give a "strong and massive" response to any Israeli submarine in the Gulf, a security official announced here.

"Israel must know that our response to aggression against our national security will be strong and massive," Xinhua news agency quoted Abolfazl Amouei, spokesman of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, as saying on Monday.

The remarks by the Iranian official came in response to a Washington Post report on December 23 which claimed that an Israeli submarine had embarked for the Gulf as a warning to Iran.

"Israel is looking for excuses to drag the region into a tension that creates chaos in the last days of (the US President Donald) Trump presidency," Amouei said.

He also warned the neighbouring Arab countries that bringing Israel too close to Iran's borders might create problems for them.

On Monday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh also elaborated on the issue, describing the Washington Post's report as a "media assumption".

Any risk for the Gulf security is "crossing Iran's redlines", he stressed.