In the early hours of Wednesday, there was an attempted seizure of two oil tankers near the strategically important Strait of Hormuz by Iran. According to the U.S. Navy, Iranian naval vessels fired upon one of the tankers. However, both Iranian vessels retreated when a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer was dispatched to the scene. The commercial ships were able to continue their journeys without further disruption.
This incident occurs against the backdrop of escalating tensions between Iran and the United States since the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement and re-imposed harsh sanctions on Iran.
Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, the spokesperson for the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, confirmed that the Iranian navy attempted to seize the commercial tankers while they were lawfully passing through international waters. He stated, “The Iranian navy did make attempts to seize commercial tankers lawfully transiting international waters. The U.S. Navy responded immediately and prevented those seizures.”
As of now, Iran has not provided an immediate comment on the incident.
According to the U.S. Navy, the first incident occurred around 1 am when an Iranian naval vessel approached the TRF Moss, a tanker flying the Marshall Islands flag, in the Gulf of Oman. In response, the U.S. deployed the USS McFaul, a guided-missile destroyer, along with an MQ-9 Reaper drone and a P-8 Poseidon patrol plane.
Approximately three hours later, the U.S. Navy received a distress call from the Richmond Voyager, an oil tanker flying the Bahamian flag, located more than 20 nautical miles off the coast of Muscat, Oman’s capital.
The Navy reported that another Iranian naval vessel closed in on the tanker and ordered it to stop within a mile.
The U.S. destroyer swiftly approached the tanker at maximum speed. Prior to the arrival of the USS McFaul, Iranian personnel fired multiple sustained bursts from small arms and crew-served weapons, according to the U.S. Navy’s statement.
The U.S. Navy has noted that Iran has seized at least five commercial vessels in the past two years and has harassed over a dozen others. Many of these incidents have taken place in and around the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage through which 20 percent of the world’s crude oil is transported.
One previous incident occurred in April when Iranian navy commandos seized a U.S.-bound oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman. Iranian state TV aired footage of the operation, claiming the seizure was in response to a collision with another Iranian vessel. However, Iran provided no evidence to support this claim. Iran has used the seizure of commercial vessels in the past as a bargaining tool in negotiations with the West.
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