Iran says it blocks US attempt to confiscate oil in Sea of Oman

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they thwarted an attempt by the United States to detain a tanker carrying the Islamic Republic’s oil in the Sea of Oman.

The American officials said that in reality Iranian forces had seized a Vietnamese-flagged oil tanker last month and U.S. naval forces were just monitoring the situation.

“With the timely and authoritative action of the Guards naval forces, the U.S. terrorist Navy’s operation to steal Iranian oil in the Sea of Oman failed,” the elite Guards said in a statement published by Iranian state media.

“The tanker carrying Iran’s oil docked at the port of Bandar Abbas on October 25.”

While Iranian media identified the seized tanker as “SOTHYS” — the name tanker tracking websites give for a Vietnam-flagged vessel — state TV aired footage showing a red tanker surrounded by about 10-speed boats. It also included a recording was the encounter between Iranian and U.S. forces.

Iran has repeatedly warned the United States about its military activities in the Gulf, saying that the Guards’ naval forces have increased patrols to also secure the passage of Iranian ships and combat fuel smuggling.

DRONES

Giving details of the reported incident, Press TV said the Guards had reacted “promptly” when the Iranian oil tanker was detained in the Sea of Oman.

“Members of the Guards naval forces carried out a heliborne operation on the detained tanker’s deck, gained control of the vessel, and directed it back toward Iran’s territorial waters,” Press TV reported.

Separately, American officials told Reuters that several drones, believed to be Iranian, had come close to the U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship Essex in the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours.