Iran says it prevented US Navy from seizing oil tanker in Arabian Sea

Published on : 11/03/2021 – 12:27Modified : 11/03/2021 – 12:28

Iran announced on Wednesday (October 3) that it had failed a US Navy attempt to seize a tanker carrying Iranian oil in the Arabian Sea, state television reported. It does not specify the date of the incident or the nationality of the tanker.

According to Iranian television, the hanging took place in several stages. “The United States has stopped a tanker exporting Iranian oil and transferred its cargo to another tanker which it directed to an unknown destination.”

Second, “the Revolutionary Guard navy, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, supported by its air force, captured the building,” according to television.

“US forces attempted to block the tanker’s passage again using several helicopters and a warship, but again failed.”

“The tanker is now in Iranian territorial waters”, according to state television, which did not specify whether the boat recovered by the Iranians was the one in which the Americans had transferred the oil.

Read also: Israel-Iran: the escalation of the “maritime shadow war”

The Arabian Sea has already experienced strong maritime tensions. Last July, the United States, in conflict with Iran over sanctions imposed by Washington on Tehran, accused Iran of being behind the attack on an Israeli tanker in the Arabian Sea, which had killed two people.

With AFP