The US Navy stopped Iranian forces from seizing two oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, AP reported, increasing tensions between the countries as they seek to ease relations strained by Iran’s nuclear program and the detention of foreign nationals.
(Bloomberg) — The US Navy stopped Iranian forces from seizing two oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, AP reported, increasing tensions between the countries as they seek to ease relations strained by Iran’s nuclear program and the detention of foreign nationals.
Iranian forces fired shots at the tankers early Wednesday, but didn’t cause any casualties or major damage, AP reported, citing US Navy Fifth Fleet Spokesman Tim Hawkins. The Iranian ships backed off after the US Navy responded to distress signals from the area, it added.
US oil company Chevron Corp. said in an emailed statement that it was aware of the situation involving the Bahamas-flagged Richmond Voyager supertanker, adding that there is no loss of life, injury or loss of containment and the vessel is operating normally.
The name of the second tanker involved wasn’t immediately clear.
Iranian state TV denied the claims late Wednesday, citing an unnamed senior defense source.
The report comes days after a tanker previously seized by the US for allegedly transporting Iranian crude arrived in Texas.
This year, Iran has taken control of at least three oil tankers around the waterway, a key transit route for oil exports from the Persian Gulf, citing judicial complaints and forged leasing documents.
Relations between the US and Iran have been tense since the effective collapse in 2018 of an agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program. After the last confirmed ship seizure in March, the two countries have held indirect talks on prisoner swaps and the release of Iranian funds frozen abroad due to sanctions.
–With assistance from Lucia Kassai.
(Updates with Chevron statement, Iranian denial from third paragraph.)
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