South Front
Image via Mehr News Agency.
On April 27, the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker Advantage Sweet was seized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) while transiting international waters in the Gulf of Oman, according to a statement by the United States Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT).
The command said in the statement that the oil tanker issued a distress call during the seizure, adding that the U.S. 5th Fleet is currently monitoring the situation.
“Iran’s actions are contrary to international law and disruptive to regional security and stability. The Iranian government should immediately release the oil tanker,” the statement reads.
Satellite tracking data for Advantage Sweet from MarineTraffic.com showed it in the Gulf of Oman just north of Oman’s capital, Muscat, on April 27 afternoon. The tanker was sailing from Kuwait to Houston in the U.S.
In its statement, NAVCENT accused Iran of unlawfully seizing at least five commercial vessels sailing in the Middle East over the last two years.
The incident came amid high tensions in the Persian Gulf. On April 2, the Iranian Navy said it identified and warned off a U.S. Navy EP-3E intelligence plane outside the mouth of the gulf.
Later on April 20, Iranian navy commander Admiral Shahram Irani claimed that an Iranian Iranian Fateh submarine forced USS Florida, an Ohio-class nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine, to surface in the Strait of Hormuz following a successful interception.
The U.S. Navy could attempt to seize an Iranian oil tanker under the pretext of violating sanctions in order to force the IRGCN to release Advantage Sweet. This could, however, lead to more escalation.
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