2021 U.S.–Iran naval incident
On 3 November 2021, Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed that they thwarted the U.S. Navy's operation to arrest Iranian oil in the Gulf of Oman. Later, this claim was rejected by the Pentagon. US officials said: they had monitored the condition with two navy ships, backed by air support.[1]
Incident
On 3 November 2021, Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed that they thwarted the U.S. Navy's operation to arrest Iranian oil in the Gulf of Oman. According to Iranian media, on 25 October, the United States navy stopped an Iranian oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman and transported its oil to another tanker then directed it to an “unknown destination”.[2][3] In details of the reported incident, Iranian media said: IRGC Navy carried out a heliborne operation on the second tanker's deck, they took control of the ship, and directed it to the territorial waters of Iran.[4] Then The US navy sent helicopters and warships to pursue the tanker with helicopters and warships, but they failed.[5]
The Pentagon refuted claims by IRGC and they called it a bogus claim. The US officials said: they only wanted to monitor the situation and did not attempt to stop the ship after a Vietnamese-flagged oil tanker had been confiscated the last month by Iran. They claimed: "The only seizing that was done was by Iran".[6]
The Vietnamese Embassy in Washington denied commenting.[7]
On 4 October 2021, according to reports, the Iranian oil tanker arrived in Bandar Abbas.[2]
Background
Iran's crude oil exports were re-imposed sanctions by the United States after Donald Trump withdrew JCPOA.[8] Either, Iran's exports sharply expanded, the data show, after the United States elections.[9]
On 14 August 2020, the United States has seized four Iranian fuel shipments bound for Venezuela. The confiscated shipments were bound for Houston, Texas.[10] Washington described it as an action against flouting U.S. sanctions. According to the Wall Street Journal report, the U.S. forced Greek shipowners to surrender Iranian fuel to the U.S. government by threatening sanctions.[11] Legal sources had previously told Reuters that the shipments could not be confiscated until they were in US territorial waters.[12]
Hojat Soltani, Iran's ambassador to Venezuela called it a big lie and wrote on Twitter: "Neither the ships are Iranian nor their owners or their cargo has any connection to Iran,".[13]
Reactions
Iran
Hossein Salami, head of the IRGC said: this event is "humiliation for an empire on the decline."[14]
Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, head of the IRGC navy, called Claims by US officials are incorrect and said: given that the distance of US ships was less than 98 feet from Iranian vessels and forces, if they just wanted to monitor the situation, they could do it from long a distance or use aircraft and drones.[15] Also, he claimed that based on their earlier assessments the US was “prepared for a large operation.” based on their earlier assessments.[14]
United state
John Kirby, pentagon spokesman, called this a bogus claim. He said: "The only seizing that was done was by Iran,".[16]
See also
- Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict
- List of shipwrecks in 2019
- Tanker War
- July 2021 Gulf of Oman incident
- August 2021 Gulf of Oman incident
References
- ^ "US denies Iranian account of attempted oil tanker capture". The Guardian.
- ^ a b "Iran, US give differing accounts in Sea of Oman tanker incident". aljazeera.
- ^ "IRGC says it thwarted US attempt to confiscate oil in the Gulf of Oman". The Jerusalem Post.
- ^ Motamedi, Maziar. "Iran holds large-scale military drill after US navy confrontation". aljazeera.
- ^ "Iran's dangerous game in the Gulf of Oman - analysis". jpost.
- ^ "Iranian claims that U.S. tried to detain tanker false, Pentagon says". Reuters.
- ^ Fassihi and Schmitt, Farnaz and Eric. "Iran Seizes an Oil Tanker, but Whose Tanker Is Disputed". The New York Times.
- ^ Hafezi, Parisa. "U.S. will sanction whoever purchases Iran's oil: official". reuters.
- ^ Jakes, Lara. "Iran's Oil Exports Rise as U.S. Looks to Rejoin Nuclear Accord". nytimes.
- ^ "US seizes millions of dollars of Iranian fuel bound for Venezuela". BBC.
- ^ Faucon and McBride, Benoit and Courtney. "Washington's Threats Forced Greek Shippers to Give Iran Fuel to U.S." The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Pamuk and Hosenball, Humeyra and Mark. "U.S. says seized four Iranian fuel shipments en route to Venezuela". Reuters.
- ^ "US says it seized 4 Iranian fuel shipments headed for Venezuela". Al Jazeera.
- ^ a b Al-Monitor Staff. "Iran's IRGC praises forces in Gulf of Oman incident". Al-Monitor.
- ^ Motamedi, Maziar. "Iran frees Vietnamese tanker seized after US navy confrontation". aljazeera.
- ^ "Pentagon: Iran's Claims that US Tried to Seize Tanker 'False'". Voice of America.