Iran’s Failed Attempt to Seize a British Oil Tanker

According to published reports, five Revolutionary Guard speedboats attempted to stop a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz; an effort that ended unsuccessfully following the arrival of a British warship. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has denied this report.

The Revolutionary Guard Corps’ attempt to stop a British oil tanker has added to tensions in the Persian Gulf waters. This news was reported by the American news networks “CNN” and “Fox News” citing military sources from that country. These reports stated that five speedboats belonging to the Revolutionary Guard Corps attempted to stop a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and drag it into Iranian waters.

The British Ministry of Defense confirmed reports of an unsuccessful attempt by three Iranian speedboats to stop the British vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps denied the report hours after its publication. The public relations office of the Fifth Naval Region of the Revolutionary Guard wrote in a statement: “The patrols of the Revolutionary Guard Navy vessels in the Persian Gulf are being conducted according to current procedures and assigned missions with wisdom, precision and firmness, and during the last 24 hours no encounter with foreign vessels, including British vessels, has taken place.”

The statement further clarified that if “given an order,” the Fifth Naval Region of the Revolutionary Guard in its geographic area would act “without delay, with decisiveness and swiftly.”

According to news agency reports, after the approach of a British warship, the Revolutionary Guard speedboats were forced to retreat. The British oil tanker was carrying one million barrels of oil. Prior to this, Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, had condemned the seizure of an Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar.

Video of Attack on British Oil Tanker

CNN and Fox News reported, citing the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, that the incident of the Revolutionary Guard speedboats approaching the aforementioned tanker was filmed by a U.S. Air Force aircraft. The United States has not yet made this video available to the media.

Bill Urban, spokesman for the U.S. Central Command, announced that the U.S. Department of Defense is aware of the Revolutionary Guard’s attempt to seize the British oil tanker. He said: “Threats to the freedom of international maritime navigation require an international solution.”

Urban’s reference was to the Pentagon’s plan for a military coalition to ensure freedom of maritime navigation in Iranian and Yemeni waters. General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, had spoken on Tuesday, July 9th about the U.S. Department of Defense plan to establish a military coalition to ensure free passage of tankers and commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb.

The United States has called for international cooperation to counter threats from Iran and its allies against oil tankers and commercial maritime traffic.

If confirmed, the news of the Revolutionary Guard’s attempt to seize the British oil tanker will increase regional tensions. The attack on oil tankers near the port of Fujairah in May of this year, the attack on an American drone, the seizure of an Iranian mega-tanker in Gibraltar, and now the issue of the Revolutionary Guard’s attempt to stop a British oil tanker are among the events that have intensified tensions between Iran and the United States in the region over recent weeks.

Source: DW