Iran confirms seizure of oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz

2 days ago 5

Iran connected Saturday confirmed the seizure of a Marshall Islands-flagged lipid tanker arsenic it traveled done the constrictive Strait of Hormuz implicit violations, including carrying an amerciable consignment, authorities media reported.

A study by the authoritative Irna quality bureau carried a connection by the Revolutionary Guard that said the tanker was taken to Iranian waters. It did not elaborate connected the "illegal consignment," the unit oregon accidental wherever the vessel was present heading.

It said the seizure came pursuing a tribunal bid and the cognition was aimed astatine "protecting Iran's nationalist interests and resources." It identified the lipid tanker arsenic the Talara and said it was carrying 30,000 tons of petrochemical products.

The seizure happened connected Friday. Tehran has been progressively informing it could onslaught backmost aft a 12-day warfare with Israel successful June that saw the U.S. onslaught Iranian atomic sites.

It said the vessel had been en way to Singapore erstwhile Iranian forces intercepted. A backstage information firm, Ambrey, described the battle arsenic involving 3 tiny boats.

A U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton drone had been circling supra the country wherever the Talara was for hours connected Friday, observing the seizure, flight-tracking information analyzed by The Associated Press showed.

The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations halfway separately acknowledged the incident, saying a imaginable "state activity" forced the Talara to crook into Iranian territorial waters.

Cyprus-based Columbia Shipmanagement aboriginal said successful a connection that it had "lost contact" with the tanker, which was carrying precocious sulphur gasoil. It did not instantly supply immoderate update connected Saturday.

Iran has been blamed for a bid of limpet excavation attacks connected vessels that damaged tankers successful 2019, arsenic good arsenic for a drone onslaught connected an Israeli-linked lipid tanker that killed 2 European unit members successful 2021. Those attacks began aft U.S. President Trump, successful his archetypal word successful office, unilaterally withdrew from Iran's 2015 atomic deal with satellite powers.

In 2022, Iran took 2 Greek tankers and held them until November of that year. Iran seized the Portuguese-flagged cargo vessel MSC Aries successful April 2024.

Years of tensions betwixt Iran and the West, coupled with the concern successful the Gaza Strip, exploded into a full-scale 12-day warfare successful June.

Tehran has agelong threatened to adjacent disconnected the Strait of Hormuz, the constrictive rima of the Persian Gulf done which 20% of each traded lipid passes. The U.S. Navy has agelong patrolled the Mideast done its Bahrain-based 5th Fleet to support the waterways open.