Armed individuals, numbering at least four, reportedly commandeered a vessel in the Gulf of Oman, as disclosed by Britain’s Royal.
In response to the United States’ confiscation of the same vessel and its oil last year, Iran has seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman.
According to a report by Tasnim News Agency on Thursday, Iran is in the process of transferring the seized vessel to an Iranian port. The action is said to be a retaliatory measure, with the Iranian Navy citing an order from an Iranian court as the basis for the seizure.
“This tanker whose name was changed to St Nicholas and carrying oil in the Oman sea was seized in retaliation for the theft of oil by the American regime, with an order from the judicial courts, and is being transferred to ports of the Islamic Republic to be delivered to the judicial authorities.”
Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations said in a statement to CNN that the seizure was a “lawful undertaking sanctioned by a court order and corresponds to the theft of Iran’s very own oil.”
Mike Sommers, president and chief executive officer of American Petroleum Institute (API), during the 24th World Petroleum Congress in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023.
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“Adhering to the established legal procedures is the most prudent approach for the resolution of this matter.”
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said earlier that a vessel in the Gulf of Oman had been boarded early Thursday by at least four armed people and had diverted course toward Iranian territorial waters.
The ship’s Company Security Officer reported hearing unknown voices over the phone, after which communications with the vessel were lost, UKMTO said.
The armed “unauthorized” people who boarded the vessel were wearing military-style black uniforms with masks, the UK naval information service said.
