The map exhibits the Strait of Hormuz, an essential waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, with Iran to the north and the UAE and Oman enclave of Musandam to the south. Getty / iStockphoto
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim information company, which is affiliated with the nation’s highly effective Revolutionary Guards, mentioned, “Iran’s navy has introduced that it has seized a US oil tanker by court docket order within the waters of the Sea of Oman.” In a message posted on a channel on the Telegram social media app. State information company IRNA additionally reported the navy’s assertion.
The ship, as soon as referred to as the Suez Rajan, was concerned in a year-long battle that led to the U.S. Department of Justice seizing 1 million barrels of Iranian oil from the ship, sparking rapid suspicion towards Iran. surfaced. Another Iranian information company, Mehr News Agency, mentioned the navy claimed Thursday’s seizure was “retaliation” for a earlier U.S. motion towards the tanker.
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Satellite monitoring information analyzed by The Associated Press final confirmed the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, now known as the St. Nicholas, altering course and heading towards Iran’s Bandar-e-Jask port. . Although the Marshall Islands is an unbiased nation, it has deep historic and financial ties to the United States.
Image offered by Refnitive Eikon Data Services exhibits a map monitoring the route of the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker St. Nicholas within the Gulf of Oman on January 11, 2024. REFINITIV EIKON/Reuters
The seizure got here after weeks of assaults by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels towards ships within the Red Sea, together with the most important barrage of drones and missiles in historical past launched late Tuesday. .
According to U.S. Central Command, this salvo alone resulted within the Iranian-backed Houthis firing 18 drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles, and one anti-ship ballistic missile, all of which have been efficiently shot down. .
Houthi navy spokesman Yahya Salih mentioned on Wednesday that the Houthis fired “a big quantity” of missiles and drones at U.S. ships “offering assist” to Israel throughout the conflict with Hamas within the Gaza Strip. mentioned.
The assault on the ship comes particularly after Wednesday’s UN Security Council decision condemning the Houthis and U.S. and British officers warning of the potential penalties of the assault. It raises the chance of a doable retaliatory assault by U.S.-led forces patrolling the very important waterway.
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The British military-run group mentioned it had obtained a report from the ship’s safety chief that an “unknown voice on the phone” may very well be heard close to the captain. Further efforts to contact the ship have been unsuccessful, and the assertion mentioned the lads on board have been carrying “black navy uniforms and black masks.”
Private safety agency Ambry mentioned “4 to 5 armed people” have been on board the ship, which it recognized because the St. Nicholas. The males have been mentioned to have hidden surveillance cameras whereas driving the automobile.
An oil tanker then referred to as Suez Rajang and now known as St. Nicholas, flying the flag of the Marshall Islands, is seen on this Oct. 4, 2020 file picture in Tokyo Bay, Japan.Reuters/Daisuke Futamura
The tanker was off the coast of the Iraqi metropolis of Basra, loading crude oil certain for Aliaga, Turkey, for Turkish oil refinery Tupras.
St. Nicholas was beforehand named Suez Rajan in partnership with Greek transport firm Empire Navigation. Athens-based Empire Navigation confirmed in a press release to The Associated Press that it had misplaced contact with the ship, which had a crew of 18 Filipinos and one Greek. The firm didn’t present particulars.
The Suez Rajan started to draw consideration in February 2022, when Iranian anti-nuclear teams suspected that the tanker was carrying oil from Iran’s Kharg Island, a significant oil distribution terminal within the Persian Gulf. That was when it was introduced. Satellite photographs and transport information analyzed by The Associated Press on the time supported this declare.
The ship had been anchored within the South China Sea off the northeast coast of Singapore for months, when it out of the blue set sail for the Texas coast with out clarification. The ship unloaded her cargo in August onto one other tanker, which launched crude oil in Houston as a part of a Justice Department order.
In September, Empire Navigation pled responsible to smuggling sanctioned Iranian oil and agreed to pay a $2.4 million effective over the tanker incident.
The U.S. Navy’s fifth Fleet, which patrols the Middle East, didn’t reply to a request for touch upon the incident. Ahead of Tasnim’s report, Iran’s state information company IRNA cited international reviews and talked about his flight, however mentioned nothing additional. Iran’s mission to the United Nations additionally didn’t reply to requests for remark.
In 2022, after the Suez Rajan headed for the United States, Iran seized two tankers close to the Strait of Hormuz, together with one carrying cargo from U.S. oil big Chevron. . In July, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards Navy issued a risk. Further motion has been taken towards those that unloaded the Suez Rajan, with state media linking the destiny of the cargo to the latest seizure.
Since the collapse of the Iran nuclear deal, there have been a lot of Iranian seizures and assaults on ships within the waters surrounding the strait, which the navy claims are the work of Tehran. Iran and its navy have additionally skilled a collection of tense confrontations within the waterway, however latest consideration has targeted on Houthi assaults on ships within the Red Sea.
The United States and its allies have additionally been seizing Iranian oil cargoes since 2019. This has led to a collection of assaults by the Islamic Republic within the Middle East and seizures of ships by Iranian forces and militias, threatening world transport.
The Houthis say their assaults are aimed toward ending Palestinian struggling in Israel’s conflict towards Hamas within the Gaza Strip. But rebels are more and more concentrating on ships with weak or no ties to Israel.
Meanwhile, satellite tv for pc monitoring information analyzed by The Associated Press on Thursday confirmed that an Iranian cargo ship suspected of being a spy hub within the Red Sea had left the waterway. Data confirmed that the Beshad entered the Gulf of Aden by means of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The Beshad has been within the Red Sea off the coast of Eritrea’s Dharak Islands since 2021. Amid a rising shadow conflict of ship assaults within the area, the bottom comes after Iran eliminated the Sabiz base, one other spy base within the Red Sea that analysts mentioned was broken in an Israeli assault. arrived at.
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