US Department of Defense Spokesperson: Islamic Republic's Claims About Oil Tanker Are "Completely False and False"

A spokesman for the US Department of Defense has rejected claims by the Islamic Republic of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps that it prevented a US attempt to seize an Iranian oil tanker in the Sea of ​​Oman, calling them "completely false."

"I have seen the Iranian claims, they are completely false and untrue. ... This is a fabricated claim," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said during a news conference Wednesday evening.

He also emphasized that the "detention" was carried out by Iran.

A Pentagon spokesman stressed that no attempt was made by the US Navy to seize the ship, saying that Iran's claim related to an incident on October 24 in which US Navy personnel witnessed the illegal boarding and seizure of a commercial vessel in international waters in the Sea of ​​Oman by Iranian forces.

Mr. Kirby continued: "The Fifth Fleet has ordered our ships and aircraft in the area to monitor the situation. We had no intention of seizing the ship. We acted in accordance with international law, and any claim to the contrary is a fabrication."

The Pentagon official called the statements of the Islamic Republic officials regarding the US action to seize the ship "ridiculous" and said: "The truth of this is...
"It is that Iranian forces illegally entered a ship and seized it, contrary to international laws governing navigation and free trade."

In response to a question about the country that owns the ship, he said that he is not currently allowed to share this information and that the owner's government will announce it if it wishes.

In response to another question about the basis for the US Navy's presence and close monitoring of the event, he said that, unlike the actions of Iranian forces, "we acted based on international law and in order not to escalate tensions. Our presence in that region of the world is within the framework of deterrence. Our goal is to protect navigation and freedom of trade."

He emphasized that this may not be a complete deterrent against the Revolutionary Guards, adding: "We acted completely in accordance with international law in this case."

In response to a question about the delay in announcing the incident, Mr. Kirby said that there is no need to issue a media statement for every incident, and that the reason for this announcement was "because the Iranians lied about this today."

On Wednesday, November 3, Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed that it had "neutralized" a US attempt to seize an oil tanker carrying Iranian oil in the Sea of ​​Oman.

But according to Reuters, American officials, who did not want to be named, said that Iran's claim was untrue and that the United States had not taken action to seize any tanker.

According to Reuters, US officials said that Iranian forces had in fact seized a Vietnamese-flagged tanker last month and that US naval forces were merely monitoring the situation.

Al-Hurra TV also quoted the US Department of Defense on Wednesday as saying that the IRGC's claim about US naval forces attempting to recapture an oil tanker from Iranian forces is false.

Newsweek also reported, citing an unnamed US Defense Department official, that Iranian forces seized an oil tanker in the Sea of ​​Oman last week, but said that US forces were only observing the incident and did not engage the Revolutionary Guards.

According to Newsweek, the US Department of Defense official, describing observations by US forces of the event, said that "more than 10 Iranian speedboats" surrounded the ship and a helicopter was flying around the area.

Earlier, the official news agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran, IRNA, reported that the United States first seized an Iranian tanker and transferred its cargo to another tanker, and then the IRGC forces "conducted a helicopter operation on the deck of the tanker" to seize it and transfer it to Iran.

A statement published by Iranian state media on behalf of the IRGC said that "due to timely action" by the IRGC Navy, the US Navy's operation "to steal the Islamic Republic of Iran's oil in the Sea of ​​Oman was thwarted."

The IRGC statement says that the seized tanker carrying Iranian oil docked at the Bandar Abbas port on November 25.

Reuters writes that while Iranian media have called the seized tanker SOTHYS – a name used by tanker tracking websites for a Vietnamese-flagged vessel – Iranian state television broadcast footage showing a red tanker surrounded by about 10 speedboats. Iranian television described the scenes as a confrontation between Iranian and American forces.

Separately, US officials told Reuters that several drones believed to be Iranian had approached the USS Essex in the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington have risen amid the stalled negotiations to revive the JCPOA.

Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, also said on Wednesday that the negotiations will fail unless US President Joe Biden guarantees that Washington will not refuse to implement the nuclear deal in the future.

Before the negotiations were suspended in June, Iran and the United States had six rounds of indirect negotiations coordinated by the European Union and attended by other members of the JCPOA to return both sides to full compliance with the agreement, but the date of the seventh round is not known.

The United States has repeatedly expressed its readiness to resume negotiations to revive the JCPOA and has called on Iran to return to these negotiations before it is too late.

The government of Ebrahim Raisi has said that it is reviewing the previous government's negotiations and will return to Vienna after the review is complete.

The United States, on the other hand, says that the more time passes, the more likely it is that a reciprocal return to compliance with the JCPOA will no longer bring the desired benefits.

Source: Voice of America