Iran naval forces tried to grab two business tankers in Gulf of Oman

Iran tried to grab two oil tankers close to the strategic Strait of Hormuz early on Wednesday, opening hearth on one among them, the US Navy has mentioned. The Iranian naval vessels backed off after the US Navy dispatched a guided missile destroyer to the scene, they added, reporting that each business ships then continued their voyages.

A spokesman for the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet mentioned the gunfire directed on the second vessel didn’t trigger casualties or any main injury.

“The Iranian navy did make attempts to seize commercial tankers lawfully transiting international waters,” mentioned Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, the US Navy spokesman.

“The US Navy responded immediately and prevented those seizures,” he added.

The US Navy mentioned an Iranian naval vessel approached the Marshall Islands-flagged TRF Moss within the Gulf of Oman at round 1am.

The US deployed the USS McFaul, a guided-missile destroyer, in addition to as MQ-9 Reaper drone and a P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft.

Three hours later, the US Navy obtained a misery name from the Bahamian-flagged oil tanker Richmond Voyager greater than 20 nautical miles off the coast of Muscat, the capital of Oman.

The Navy mentioned one other Iranian naval vessel had closed inside a mile of the tanker and had ordered it to cease.

The similar US destroyer sped towards the tanker at “maximum speed,” the Navy mentioned in a press release.

“Prior to McFaul’s arrival on scene, Iranian personnel fired multiple, long bursts from both small arms and crew-served weapons,” it mentioned.

The US Navy says Iran has seized no less than 5 business vessels within the final two years and has harassed greater than a dozen others.

Many of the incidents have occurred in and across the Strait of Hormuz, the slim mouth of the Persian Gulf by which 20 p.c of all crude oil passes.

In April, masked Iranian navy commandos carried out a helicopter-borne raid to grab a US-bound oil tanker within the Gulf of Oman, footage of which was aired on Iranian state TV.

Iran mentioned the tanker was seized after it collided with one other Iranian vessel however offered no proof. In the previous, Iran has seized business vessels to make use of as bargaining chips with the West.