Iran's unsuccessful attempt to seize a British tanker
According to published reports, five IRGC speedboats attempted to stop a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, an attempt that ended in failure when a British warship entered the area. The IRGC has denied the report.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' attempt to stop a British tanker has added to tensions in the Persian Gulf, according to CNN and Fox News, citing military sources in the United States. The reports state that five speedboats belonging to the Revolutionary Guard Corps attempted to stop a British tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and tow it into Iranian waters.
The British Ministry of Defense has confirmed the unsuccessful attempt by three Iranian speedboats to stop a British ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps denied the news hours after the report was published. The IRGC’s Fifth Naval Region Public Relations Office wrote in a statement: “The patrols of the IRGC’s naval vessels in the Persian Gulf are being carried out in accordance with current procedures and announced missions, with intelligence, precision and firmness, and there have been no encounters with foreign vessels, including British vessels, in the last 24 hours.”
The announcement further states that if the Fifth Region of the IRGC Navy "receives an order" within its geographical area, it will act "without delay, decisively, and quickly" to carry it out.
The news agency reported that the IRGC boats were forced to retreat after a British ship approached. The British tanker was carrying one million barrels of oil. Earlier, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani condemned the seizure of the Iranian tanker in Gibraltar.
Video of the attack on the British tanker
CNN and Fox News have reported, citing the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, that the incident of the IRGC's speedboats approaching the tanker was filmed by a US Air Force aircraft. The US has not yet released the footage to the media.
Bill Urban, a spokesman for the US Central Command, announced that the US Department of Defense was aware of the IRGC’s attempt to seize a British tanker. He said: “Threats to international freedom of navigation require an international solution.”
Urban is referring to the Pentagon's military coalition plan to ensure freedom of navigation in Iranian and Yemeni waters. On Tuesday, July 9, General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke about the US Department of Defense's plan to create a military coalition to ensure the free passage of oil tankers and commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab.
The United States has called for international cooperation to counter threats from Iran and its allies against oil tankers and commercial shipping.
If the news of the IRGC's attempt to seize a British tanker is confirmed, tensions in the region will increase. The attack on tankers near the port of Fujairah in May of this year, the attack on an American drone, the seizure of an Iranian supertanker in Gibraltar, and now the IRGC's attempt to stop a British tanker are among the events that have fueled tensions between Iran and the United States in the region in recent weeks.
Source: DW
