An undated picture of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy patrol craft.
A senior Iranian military source denied allegations made by the United States Navy that Iranian naval vessels attempted to seize two oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz on July 5.
The U.S. Navy claimed that Iranian vessels attempted to seize a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker TRF Moss in the Gulf of Oman, and after about three hours, the vessels tried to seize the tanker Richmond Voyager that flies the flag of the Bahamas. After failing to approach the second tanker, Iranian sailors opened fire. However, there were no casualties or major damage.
Iranian media did not provide any details but quoted an unnamed military source as denying that any such incident took place.
In an attempt to back its claims, the U.S. Navy released video footage of the alleged incidents near the Strait of Hormuz. However, the footage was not clear.
About a fifth of global shipments of crude oil and petroleum products pass through the Strait of Hormuz, according to data from analytics firm Vortexa.
Tensions have been mounting in the strategic naval route since Iran seized two oil tankers on April 27 and May 3. The tankers were reportedly captured in response to the seizure of a China-bound Iranian oil shipment by the U.S. near southern Africa on April 22.
The U.S. retaliated by announcing on May 12 that it will increase the rotation of ships and aircraft patrolling in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
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