Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) reported seizing a foreign oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, labeling the vessel a “violator” without providing a clear reason for its detention.
The US Fifth Fleet, stationed in Bahrain, disclosed that a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker had been apprehended by the IRGC Navy while traversing the Strait of Hormuz. A drone captured footage of the incident, showing twelve IRGC vessels detaining the tanker around 6:20 a.m. local time (0250 GMT).
The US Navy stated that the IRGC vessels compelled the oil tanker to change direction and proceed towards Iranian territorial waters near Bandar Abbas, Iran.
In a previous encounter, the Iranian naval forces had seized a Marshal Islands-flagged tanker, branding it a “transgressor” and directing it towards Iranian coastal waters in the Sea of Oman. The Iranian army claimed that the tanker had collided with an Iranian vessel in the Persian Gulf, injuring several crew members and leaving at least two missing.
The US Naval Forces Central Command asserted that the ship was taken in international waters in the Gulf of Oman.
These events unfold amid escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington, exacerbated by the impasse in talks to reinstate the 2015 nuclear accord and regional developments. Iran has consistently called for the withdrawal of US forces from the region and for ending American naval activities in the area.
