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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
Asharq Al-Awsat

US Navy: Iran Seizes Oil Tanker in Gulf

An SH-60 Seahawk helicopter assigned to the United States guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61)(not shown) flies above a stateless dhow interdicted with a shipment of illicit weapons in international waters of the North Arabian Sea in this picture taken on May 6, 2021 and released by US Navy on May 9, 2021. US Navy Forces Central Command/US Navy/Handout via REUTERS

Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman in international waters on Thursday, the US Navy said, the latest in a series of seizures and attacks on commercial vessels in Gulf waters since 2019.

The US Navy identified the vessel as the Advantage Sweet.

"Iran's continued harassment of vessels and interference with navigational rights in regional waters are a threat to maritime security and the global economy," the US Navy said, adding that Iran has in the past two years unlawfully seized at least five commercial vessels in the Middle East.

Since 2019 there have been a series of attacks on shipping in the strategic Gulf waters at times of tension between the United States and Iran.

Iran last November released two Greek-flagged tankers it had seized in the Gulf in May in response to the confiscation of oil by the United States from an Iranian-flagged tanker off the Greek coast.

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