Iran Seizes Panama-Flagged Oil Tanker: Last Minute World News Update
Iranian Revolutionary Guards Seize Panamanian Oil Tanker in Strait of Hormuz
On May 3rd, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards seized a Panama-flagged oil tanker named ‘Niovi’ in the Strait of Hormuz. The announcement was made by the 5th Fleet of the USA, which is based in Bahrain.
The Strait, located between Iran and Oman, is a vital shipping route in the Middle East, through which a third of the world’s seaborne oil flows. The seizure of the tanker is the latest in a series of incidents between Iran and the US, which have been at odds since former US President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on state television that they had captured the tanker “due to repeated violations of maritime environmental laws”. This statement has not been verified by any independent sources yet.
The diplomatic tensions between the US and Iran have been increasing since the beginning of the year. In January, the US killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike. Iran retaliated by launching missiles at US targets in Iraq, leaving dozens injured.
Last week, the US Navy said that an Iranian warship came dangerously close to crashing into an American vessel in the Gulf. In response, the US fired warning shots, and the Iranian ship eventually turned away.
The seizure of the tanker is expected to add further tension to the already fraught relations between Iran and the US. The Biden administration has been holding indirect negotiations with Iran to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal, but recent incidents are complicating this possibility.
The Niovi is the second tanker to be captured by Iran in two months. In April, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized a South Korean-flagged oil tanker that was carrying $7 billion worth of crude oil.
