Iran accused the United States of “piracy” in a letter to the United Nations after Washington seized two Iranian-linked tankers and confiscated 3.8 million barrels of crude oil.
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, urged the UN Security Council to condemn the US actions. He said the seizures of the MT Majestic and MT Tiffany amounted to unlawful coercion and interference in international trade.
Iravani said the tankers were seized in international waters and that the confiscated oil cargo was Iranian property. He argued the operation violated the UN Charter, international law and the law of the sea. The Iranian envoy warned that the seizures could create “a dangerous precedent” for maritime security and the international rule of law. He also called for the release of the vessels and their crews.
Iran said the ships were carrying about 1.9 million barrels of crude oil each. The complaint identified the vessels as MT Majestic, also known as MT Majestic X or formerly Phoenix, and MT Tiffany, also known as Tifani.
The dispute comes amid heightened maritime tensions involving Iran, the United States and the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, including the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil transit route between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Iran, whose capital is Tehran and which is in West Asia, has rejected US maritime enforcement actions as unlawful.
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The United States has described similar interdictions as sanctions enforcement against Iran’s “shadow fleet”. Washington says such vessels are used to evade restrictions on Iranian oil exports.
