The Islamic Republic of Iran has taken control of a foreign ship in the Gulf of Oman, the US Navy said on Thursday, April 27.
A Distress Call
In a report by Fox News, Iranian troops captured the oil tanker Advantage Sweet as it sailed from Kuwait toward Houston, Texas. The ship was displaying the flag of the Marshall Islands.
The US Navy's 5th Fleet reported that the oil tanker sent a distress signal during the hijacking.
"Iran's actions are contrary to international law and disruptive to regional security and stability," the US Navy stated. "Iran should immediately release the oil tanker."
According to ABC News, Turkish ship operator Advantage Tankers confirmed that their tanker, the Advantage Sweet, was being escorted to port by the Iranian navy due to an international dispute. It said that the company's first concern is for the well-being of its employees, the crew.
Ownership records for the vessel indicated that a Chinese firm was the stated proprietor.
According to a statement issued by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy was responsible for seizing the ship. This episode occurs in the context of broader tensions over Iran's nuclear programs.
Threat to Maritime Security
While in international waters in the Gulf of Oman, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy boarded and captured the ship Advantage Sweet, as reported by NAVCENT.
Iran's persistent harassment of boats and interference with navigational rights in regional waterways pose a danger to maritime security and the global economy, the statement remarked. Notably, Iran has illegally taken possession of at least five commercial boats operating in the Middle East during the previous two years.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior scholar and Iran specialist at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News that this terrorism and regional instability by the Islamic Republic is not confined to any one landmass, airspace, or even body of water, as the Islamic Republic continues to demonstrate.
He said Tehran's danger to international commerce is almost as old as the Islamic Republic itself.
He also noted that the assumption that increased Chinese participation in the Persian Gulf may restrict the regime's bad conduct had been punctured by Iran's continuing hostage grabbing of oil tankers and harassment of other boats.
The US Navy's 5th Fleet is keeping an eye on developments.
What sparked the conflict?
The Iranian takeover on Thursday was the most recent in a series of bombings and hijackings that have shaken the area.
All of this started when former President Donald Trump pulled the US out of an international agreement with Iran that severely restricted the country's uranium enrichment in return for easing economic sanctions, ABC News reported.
In addition, the US Navy holds Iran responsible for a 2019 string of limpet mine strikes that damaged oil tankers and a 2021 drone assault on an oil ship with Israeli ties that killed two European crew members.
