The US Navy prevents the Iranian hijacking of two oil tankers. Exchange of gunshots
The US Navy's Fifth Fleet said Iranian ships attempted to seize two tankers near the Strait of Hormuz in the early hours of Wednesday, including firing at one of them.
The US Navy said it responded to calls for help and prevented the seizure. "The Iranian Navy has attempted to seize commercial tankers transiting lawfully in international waters," Commander Tim Hawkins, spokesman for the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, confirmed in a statement. “The US Navy responded immediately and prevented these seizures.”
The Associated Press described the stricken tanker as US-operated, albeit Bahamian-flagged and Greek-owned: Shots were fired 28 nautical miles northeast of Muscat, the Omani capital.
The US Navy further described that in total Iran has seized at least five commercial vessels over the past two years, and several incidents of harassment of foreign vessels have also been reported.
In April, elite Iranian commandos raided the Gulf of Oman on a US-bound tanker, crashing there aboard a helicopter. The tanker was Chinese-owned and headed for Houston. Tehran has tried to justify its actions by citing recent instances of Washington seizing its oil on the high seas.
Currently, the US Congress is moving to toughen US action against “illegal” Iranian crude exports:
Several US senators have backed the Biden administration's move to seize Iranian tankers in the Panama Canal, calling for more steps to halt Iranian crude exports.
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) told Iran International's Arash Aalaei that he "applauds" the seizure and "hope there are many more."
He added that this is a message to the Iranians warning them that they cannot ultimately divert their oil and violate the embargoes placed on their oil trade. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) said he supports the Biden administration's seizure of the Suez Rajan tanker carrying Iranian crude, calling it "a very strong move."
The senator added, “Iranian aggression in many ways, including supplying drones to Russia to facilitate an illegal war in Ukraine, Iran's behavior both towards its own people and across borders, is becoming getting worse ."
Last week there was talk of a possible agreement between the USA and Iran on the nuclear issue, but this type of incident risks interrupting any contacts, or rather igniting a conflict in an area essential for world energy stability.
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The article US Navy prevents Iranian hijacking of two oil tankers. Exchange of gunshots comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-us-navy-impedisce-il-dirottamento-iraniano-di-due-petroliere-scambio-di-colpi-darma-da-fuoco/ on Wed, 05 Jul 2023 16:01:04 +0000.