US Defense Department Spokesperson: Islamic Republic’s Claims About Tanker are ‘Completely False and Lies’

The spokesperson for the United States Department of Defense rejected claims by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that it prevented an American attempt to seize an Iranian oil tanker in the Oman Sea, calling them completely “false.”

John Kirby, Pentagon spokesperson, said Wednesday afternoon during a press conference: “I’ve seen Iran’s claims, they are completely false and lies. … This is a fabricated claim.”

He also emphasized that the act of “seizure” was carried out by Iran.

The Pentagon spokesperson, stressing that there was no attempt by the U.S. Navy to seize the vessel, said that Iran’s claim relates to an incident on October 24 in which American naval personnel observed the unlawful boarding of a commercial ship in international waters in the Oman Sea and its seizure by Iranian forces.

Mr. Kirby continued: “The Fifth Fleet ordered our ships and air assets in the region to monitor the situation. We had no intention to seize the ship. We acted in accordance with international law and any claim contrary to what I’ve said is a fabricated claim.”

This Pentagon official described the Islamic Republic’s statements about the American attempt to seize the ship as “ridiculous” and said: “The fact is that Iranian forces unlawfully and in violation of international maritime law and free commerce entered a ship and seized it.”

When asked about the flag state of the vessel, he said he is not currently authorized to share this information and if the flag state government wanted to, it would announce it itself.

In response to another question about the basis for the U.S. Navy’s close observation of this event, he said that unlike the conduct of Iranian forces, “We acted in accordance with international law and to de-escalate tensions. Our presence in that part of the world is within the framework of deterrence. Our goal is to protect maritime navigation and freedom of commerce.”

Referencing the possibility that this action may not fully deter the Revolutionary Guard Corps, he emphasized: “We acted completely in accordance with international law in this matter.”

When asked about the delay in announcing this incident, Mr. Kirby, noting that it is not necessary to issue a media statement for every incident, said the reason for this reporting “was that today the Iranians lied about this matter.”

On Wednesday, November 3, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps had claimed that it had “neutralized” an American attempt to seize an Iranian oil tanker in the Oman Sea.

However, according to Reuters, American officials who requested anonymity said that Iran’s claim has no basis in fact and that the United States did not attempt to seize any tanker.

According to Reuters, American officials said that in fact Iranian forces seized a Vietnamese-flagged tanker last month and U.S. naval forces merely monitored those circumstances.

Al Hurra television also reported Wednesday, citing the U.S. Department of Defense, that the Revolutionary Guard Corps’ claim about U.S. Navy forces attempting to recover a tanker from Iranian forces is false.

Newsweek also reported, citing an unnamed U.S. Defense Department official, that Iranian forces seized a tanker in the Oman Sea last week; however, American forces were only observers of the incident and did not engage with the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

According to Newsweek, this U.S. Defense Department official, describing the observations of American forces of this event, said that “more than 10 Iranian speedboats” had surrounded the vessel and a helicopter was also flying in the area.

Earlier, Iran’s official news agency IRNA had reported that the U.S. first seized an Iranian tanker and transferred its cargo to another tanker, and then Revolutionary Guard forces, by “executing a heli-borne operation on the deck of the tanker,” took control of it and transferred it to Iran.

In a statement published by Iranian state media from the Revolutionary Guard Corps, it stated that “through timely action” by the naval forces of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, the operation of the U.S. Navy “to steal oil from the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Oman Sea failed.”

The Revolutionary Guard statement says the seized tanker carrying Iranian oil docked at Bandar Abbas on November 3.

Reuters writes that while Iranian media called the seized tanker SOTHYS—a name that ship-tracking websites use for a Vietnamese-flagged vessel—Iranian state television aired footage showing a red-colored tanker surrounded by about 10 speedboats. Iranian television described these scenes as a confrontation between Iranian and American forces.

In a separate incident, American officials told Reuters that several drones believed to be Iranian approached the U.S. warship “USS Essex” in the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington have escalated amid a pause in nuclear deal revival negotiations.

Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, also said Wednesday that negotiations will fail unless President Joe Biden guarantees that Washington will not abandon implementation of the nuclear agreement in the future.

Prior to the pause in negotiations in June, Iran and the United States held six rounds of indirect talks coordinated by the European Union and with the participation of other JCPOA members to return both sides to full compliance with the agreement, but the date for the seventh round remains unclear.

The United States has repeatedly announced its readiness to resume nuclear deal revival negotiations and has asked Iran to return to these talks before it is too late.

The government of Ebrahim Raisi has said it is reviewing the previous government’s negotiations and will return to Vienna after completing this review.

The U.S., for its part, says that the more time passes, the return to mutual compliance with the JCPOA may no longer bring the anticipated benefits.

Source: Voice of America