In the early hours of Wednesday, Iran made an attempt to seize two oil tankers near the strategically significant Strait of Hormuz. The US Navy reported that one of the tankers was fired upon by Iranian naval vessels. However, in both incidents, the Iranian vessels retreated after the US Navy dispatched a guided missile destroyer to the scene. The commercial ships were able to continue their voyages without further disruption.
This latest saga comes as tensions between Iran and the United States have been on the rise since the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement and reimposed severe sanctions on Iran.
Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, the spokesperson for the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, confirmed that the Iranian Navy tried to seize the commercial tankers while they were lawfully transiting international waters. “The Iranian Navy did make attempts to seize commercial tankers lawfully transiting international waters,” he said adding, “The US Navy responded immediately and prevented those seizures.”
As of now, there has been no immediate comment from Iran regarding the incident.
According to the US Navy, the first incident occurred when an Iranian naval vessel approached the TRF Moss, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, in the Gulf of Oman at approximately 1 am. In response, the US deployed the USS McFaul, a guided-missile destroyer, along with an MQ-9 Reaper drone and a P-8 Poseidon patrol plane.
Approximately three hours later, the US Navy received a distress call from the Richmond Voyager, an oil tanker flying the Bahamian flag, located over 20 nautical miles off the coast of Muscat, Oman’s capital.
The navy reported that another Iranian naval vessel closed in on the tanker within a mile and ordered it to stop.
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The US destroyer swiftly approached the tanker at maximum speed, the Navy said. Prior to the arrival of the USS McFaul, Iranian personnel fired multiple sustained bursts from small arms and crew-served weapons, according to the US Navy’s statement.
Iran’s history of naval provocations
The US Navy has noted that Iran has seized at least five commercial vessels in the past two years and has harassed over a dozen others.
Many of these incidents have taken place in and around the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage through which 20 per cent of the world’s crude oil is transported.
Previous incidents include an April raid by Iranian navy commandos who seized a US-bound oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman. Iranian state TV aired footage of the operation, claiming the seizure was in response to a collision with another Iranian vessel.
However, Iran provided no evidence to support its claim. Iran has previously used the seizure of commercial vessels as a bargaining tool in negotiations with the West.
