Iran said it had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Oman, escalating fears that the Islamic republic could step up attacks against shipping in the Middle East’s waterways.
Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated to Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, said Iranian naval forces captured an “American oil tanker” in the Gulf of Oman, acting on court orders. The news agency was quoting the navy, but provided no further details.
TankerTrackers, a private maritime intelligence service, identified the vessel as the St Nikolas, owned by Athens-based Empire Navigation, and said it was carrying Iraqi oil. That vessel was previously embroiled in a dispute between Tehran and Washington over the tanker’s involvement in breaching US sanctions. Empire said in October it had settled the dispute with the US Department of Justice.