Iran seizes two Greek tankers amid rising tensions in the Gulf

One of the seized ships, the Greek-flagged oil tanker, Prudent Warrior, is seen as it sails past Istanbul, Turkey, in 2019. Photograph: Dursun Çam/AP

Iran has seized two Greek tankers in helicopter-launched attacks in the Gulf amid a dramatic rise in tension and violent incidents in the region.

Forces from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) descended on the tankers – one of which was named as the Prudent Warrior – in helicopters in what appeared to be a reprisal for the Greek government’s role in assisting the US seizure of an Iranian oil tanker in the Mediterranean in a sanctions-enforcement action earlier in the week.