Iran claims it has foiled ‘US attempt to steal oil by blocking a tanker’ in the Sea of Oman
- Iran’s Revolutionary Guards thwarted the U.S.’s attempt to take over an Iranian oil tanker, state media claimed
- U.S. forces allegedly used helicopters and warships in attempt to block tanker
- State media did not say when the incident took place, but said it was ‘recent’
Iran has claimed it has foiled an attempt by the United States to ‘steal’ the Islamic Republic’s oil in the Sea of Oman.
U.S. forces used helicopters and warships in an attempt to block an Iranian oil tanker, Iran’s state media claimed.
The naval forces of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were able to thwart the U.S.’s attempt to take over the vessel and moved the tanker to Iranian territorial water, Iran’s Press TV said on Wednesday.
Iran’s Mehr new agency said the incident relates to a confrontation between speedboats of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and an American ship which left the scene. It said footage would be aired soon.
Neither state TV nor Mehr said when the incident had taken place, but Mehr described it as ‘recent’.
Reached for comment, the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet said it had seen reports of the incident but at present had no information to provide.
Iran has claimed it has foiled an attempt by the United States to ‘steal’ the Islamic Republic’s oil in the Sea of Oman. U.S. forces used helicopters and warships in an attempt to block an Iranian oil tanker, Iran’s state media claimed. (File image of Iranian oil vessel)
The naval forces of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were able to thwart the U.S.’s attempt to take over the vessel and moved the tanker to Iranian territorial water, Iran’s Press TV said on Wednesday (file image)
Iran has repeatedly warned the United States about its military activities in the Gulf, saying that the Guards naval forces have increased patrols to also secure the passage of Iranian ships and combat fuel smuggling.
The development comes as the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said on Wednesday that negotiations to revive the country’s 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers will fail unless US President Joe Biden can guarantee that Washington will not again abandon the pact.
‘The U.S. President, lacking authority, is not ready to give guarantees. If the current status quo continues, the result of negotiations is clear,’ Ali Shamkhani said in a tweet.
Iran is expected to give an exact date this week for the resumption of talks with the powers, scheduled for end of November according to Iranian top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani.
But on Sunday, Biden said that Iran will pay ‘economically’ if they do not resume negotiations on the nuclear deal.
The president’s comments came after Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Sunday morning that the US. isn’t ruling out taking military action against Iran should they balk at nuclear talks.
In April, Iran and six powers started talks in Vienna to reinstate the deal, which then-U.S. President Donald Trump ditched three years ago before reimposing sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy. However, the talks were put on hold after Iran’s presidential election in June that brought anti-Western hardliner Ebrahim Raisi to power.
President Joe Biden said Sunday that the U.S. will make Iran pay ‘economically’ if they do not restart negotiations on resuming the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)
A main disagreement in Vienna has been over Iran’s requirement for the United States to give guarantees that it would not renege on the nuclear agreement in the future.
The United States and European powers have urged Iran to return to negotiations, warning that time is running out as the Islamic Republic’s uranium enrichment programme is advancing well beyond the limits set by the nuclear pact.
In reaction to Trump’s reimposition of sanctions, Tehran breached the deal by rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.
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