IRAN seized a third oil tanker in the past 19 days as the US Navy increased its military presence in the Arabian Gulf.
According to the head of the justice department in Iran’s southern province of Hormozgan, the tanker had returned to Iranian territorial waters as a result of a court order and a joint operation by the IRGC Navy and Intelligence Ministry.
On April 27, Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman after it collided with an Iranian boat which injured several crewmen.
The Advantage Sweet oil tanker was bound for Houston, Texas, and allegedly attempted to escape after colliding with the Iranian tanker.
On May 3, the US Navy once again reported that the Panama-flagged oil tanker Niovi was seized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Tehran said the seizure was a result of a judicial order following a complaint filed by a plaintiff.
The US accused Iran of unlawful seizure of at least 5 commercial vessels sailing in the Middle East.
Iran and the United States have traded barbs in recent years over a spate of maritime incidents in the Arabian Gulf.
Reports of seized oil tankers in one of the world’s most strategic waterways erupted in recent years amid ongoing tensions with Iran and the West over an abandoned nuclear program.
The US Navy 5th Fleet based in Bahrain continues to monitor the situation in the Persian Gulf.
