DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (AP) – Masked Iranian navy commandos conducted a helicopter-borne raid to seize a United States (US)-bound oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, footage aired by Iran’s state television showed on Friday.
The capture on Thursday of the Turkish-managed, Chinese-owned Advantage Sweet is the latest seizure by Iran amid tensions with the US.
While Tehran said the tanker was seized over it running into another Iranian vessel, it has provided no evidence yet to support the claim – and Iranhas taken other ships as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West.
The footage showed the commandos descending on the deck of the tanker by ropes from a hovering helicopter. A photograph showed one commando with his fist in the air after apparently taking the vessel.
The US Navy’s 5th Fleet has said the Iranian seizure was at least the fifth commercial vessel taken by Tehran in the last two years.
The vessel’s manager, a Turkish firm called Advantage Tankers, issued a statement acknowledging the Advantage Sweet was “being escorted by the Iranian navy to a port on the basis of an international dispute”. All the ship’s 24 crew members are Indian.
“The safety and welfare of our valued crew members is our number one priority,” the firm said. “Similar experiences show that crew members of vessels taken under such circumstances are in no danger.”
