Tehran:
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) stated on Wednesday that it has seized a international oil tanker within the waters of the Strait of Hormuz.
The rationale for the seizure of the oil tanker is unclear, however the IRGC referred to the vessel as a “violator”.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Bahrain-based US Fifth Fleet stated in an announcement {that a} Panamanian-flagged oil tanker was seized by the IRGC Navy “whereas transiting the Strait of Hormuz”.
The US Navy printed footage shot by an aerial drone that appeared to point out a few dozen IRGC ships seizing a international tanker at round 6:20 a.m. native time (0250GMT).
The US Navy stated, the IRGC ships “compelled the oil tanker to reverse course and head in direction of Iranian territorial waters off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran.”
Wednesday’s incident comes every week after the Iranian navy’s naval division seized a Marshall Islands-flagged “offender” tanker and directed it into Iran’s coastal waters within the Sea of Oman following an encounter with an Iranian vessel.
In an announcement on the time, the Iranian navy stated the tanker collided with an Iranian vessel within the waters of the Persian Gulf, injuring some Iranian crew members, with at the very least two nonetheless lacking.
Learn additionally: US Navy says Iran has seized oil tanker in Gulf
The US Naval Forces Central Command, for its half, stated that the ship was seized “whereas crossing worldwide waters within the Gulf of Oman”.
The incidents come amid rising tensions between Tehran and Washington over the 2015 nuclear deal in addition to an deadlock over talks to revive regional growth.
Iran has repeatedly known as for the withdrawal of US forces from the area and a halt to US naval presence in territorial waters.