Dubai - Iran said on Thursday it had
seized a foreign tanker smuggling fuel in the Gulf, and the US military commander in the region said the United States would
work "aggressively" to ensure free passage of vessels through
the vital waterway.
The United States blames Iran for a series of attacks on
shipping in the world's most important oil artery since mid-May,
accusations Tehran rejects but which have raised fears the
long-time foes could stumble into war.
It was unclear if the impounded ship was the same vessel
Iran towed to safety on Sunday after sending a distress signal.
Iranian state television had earlier said it was the same ship
but the Revolutionary Guards statement did not confirm that.
The Guards said impounded the ship was smuggling one million
litres of fuel in the area of Larak Island in the Gulf and had
12 foreign crew.
Although Iran has yet to name the vessel, shipping industry
sources said they believe it to be the MT Riah. Refinitiv data
showed that the last signal received from the vessel was on
Sunday when it was in the Strait of Hormuz off the Iranian
island of Qeshm, heading towards Oman from Larak Island.
The tanker's registered manager is Prime Tankers in the UAE.
That company told Reuters it had sold the tanker to another
UAE-based company, Mouj al-Bahar.
An employee at Mouj al-Bahar said that the firm did not own
it but had been managing the vessel up to two months ago, and
that it was now under the management of a company called KRB
Petrochem. Reuters could not reach KRB Petrochem for comment.
SHIPPING LANES
The Revolutionary Guards said in Thursday's statement they
had seized no other ship in the Gulf, as Western countries
expressed concerns over alleged Iranian actions in the region.
Since mid-May, attacks on tankers near the Strait of Hormuz
have unsettled crucial shipping lanes that link Middle Eastern
oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and
beyond.
Iran denies involvement but has threatened to respond
robustly to U.S. sanctions that have followed President Donald
Trump's abandonment of a 2015 treaty in which Iran agreed to
restrict nuclear work in return for the lifting of sanctions.
The Islamic Republic says it will continue to reduce
compliance with the accord until it is allowed to resume normal
oil sales, and has demanded European parties to the nuclear deal
rein in the United States.
Washington, however, says it wants to increase pressure on
Iran to renegotiate the accord, discuss its missile program and
modify its behaviour in the Gulf, where the United States is
allied to several Arab states opposed to Iran.
US Central Command chief General Kenneth McKenzie said the
United States was talking to several countries about ensuring
freedom of navigation in the Gulf. He was speaking in Riyadh at
a news conference with General Prince Fahd bin Turki, commander
of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-aligned Houthis in
Yemen.
The United States has beefed up its military presence and is
asking allies to help protect the strategic waters off Iran and
Yemen. The U.S. Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, says Gulf Arab
states have stepped up patrols.
Britain meanwhile urged Iran to ease tensions in the Gulf on
Thursday and said it was seeking information about the latest
incident.
"But it is vital that we send a very clear message to Iran
that we want them to step back from this situation, that we want
them to de-escalate, but we have always and we will continue to
protect shipping and the free flow of goods in that area,"
Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt told a defence conference.
Iran accused Britain of piracy earlier this month after
British Royal Marines seized an Iranian tanker off the coast of
Gibraltar on suspicion it was shipping oil to Iran's ally Syria
in breach of EU sanctions on that country.