U.S. tanker reportedly approached by Iranian gunboats in Strait of Hormuz

12 hours ago 4

Dubai — British maritime information steadfast Vanguard Tech said Tuesday that a U.S.-flagged tanker was approached by Iranian gunboats, which threatened to committee the vessel, successful the Strait of Hormuz, earlier continuing connected its mode nether subject escort. The incidental comes amid a tense standoff betwixt the U.S. and Iran, and conscionable days up of expected negotiations.

The Stena Imperative was approached by 3 pairs of tiny equipped boats belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps portion transiting the Strait of Hormuz, astir 16 nautical miles northbound of Oman's coast, the institution said.

The gunboats hailed the tanker by radio, ordering the captain, "to halt the engines and hole to beryllium boarded," but the vessel accrued velocity and maintained course, the steadfast added, stressing that it ne'er entered Iranian territorial waters.

"The vas is present being escorted by a U.S. warship," Vanguard Tech said.

The U.S.-flagged tanker was inactive connected people for its destination successful Bahrain connected Tuesday afternoon, scheduled to get astatine the larboard Sitrah connected Feb. 5, accusation from the MarineTraffic website showed.

The British maritime information bureau UKMTO had reported the incidental earlier, without specifying the nationality of the vessel nor of the boats that approached it, saying lone that it had been "hailed connected VHF by galore tiny equipped vessels," but ignored the petition to halt and "continued connected its planned route."

"Authorities are investigating," UKMTO said successful its statement, informing each vessels successful the Strait of Hormuz "to transit with caution and study immoderate suspicious activity."

The Strait of Hormuz is simply a cardinal transition for planetary transport of lipid and liquefied earthy gas, and it has been the country of respective incidents successful the past amid hostility betwixt Iran and the West.

Iran's Fars quality agency, which is intimately linked to the Revolutionary Guards, cited unnamed authorities officials connected Tuesday arsenic denying the study by Vanguard Tech, claiming a vas was intercepted aft it entered Iran's territorial waters without permission.

Strait of Hormuz, waterway betwixt Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, representation

Tracking information from MarineTraffic showed the Imperative remained wrong Oman's maritime economical portion arsenic it traversed the Strait.

A elder Iranian authoritative from the Revolutionary Guards threatened past week to artifact transition of the Strait successful the lawsuit of a U.S. attack, and the Guards besides held subject exercises implicit the play successful the strategical waterway.

President Trump has threatened repeatedly that helium could launch a caller subject onslaught connected Iran implicit the country's brutal suppression of caller protests, oregon if it declines to negociate a caller woody connected its atomic program.

Speaking to CBS News past week, Mr. Trump said "I person had" conversations with Iran successful the past fewer days, and "I americium planning" to person more.

Mr. Trump said that, successful those conversations, helium "told them 2 things. No. 1, nary nuclear. And No. 2, halt sidesplitting protesters. They're sidesplitting them by the thousands."

At slightest 10 U.S. warships — including an craft bearer and astatine slightest 5 destroyers — were heading toward Iran's coastal waters arsenic of past week, a deployment Mr. Trump has called an "armada," which helium said helium hopes helium doesn't request to use.

U.S. and Iranian officials are expected to clasp talks astatine the extremity of this week.

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