Iran says it seizes ‘offending’ oil tanker; United States disables two vessels

TEHRAN: The Iranian army said on Friday that its naval forces had seized an “offending” oil tanker named “Ocean Koi” that sought to disrupt the country’s oil exports by abusing the regional circumstances. It said in a statement that the tanker was carrying Iran’s oil and sought to harm Iran’s national interests by designing a “special operation” in the Gulf of Oman.

The naval forces directed the tanker to Iran’s southern coasts and handed it over to Iran’s judicial authorities, it said. Meanwhile, the US Central Command stated that US forces disabled M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda on May 8, prior to both vessels entering an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman in violation of the ongoing US blockade. It added that a US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet from USS George H.W. Bush disabled both tankers after firing precision munitions into their smokestacks, preventing the non-compliant ships from entering Iran. The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Friday strongly condemned the overnight US attacks, calling them a violation of an April 8 ceasefire between the warring parties.  (IANS)

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