U.S. suspects Tehran seized tanker
Vessel from United Arab Emirates entered Iranian waters and turned off its tracker.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A small oil tanker from the United Arab Emirates traveling through the Strait of Hormuz entered Iranian waters and turned off its tracker three days ago, leading the U.S. to suspect Iran seized the vessel amid heightened tensions in the region.
Iranian state media quoted its Foreign Ministry spokesman early Wednesday as saying the Islamic Republic had aided a foreign oil tanker with a malfunction, but the report didn’t explain further. Oil tankers previously have been targeted in the wider region amid tensions between the U.S. and Iran over its unraveling nuclear deal with world powers.
The Panamanianflagged Riah turned off its transponder late Saturday night, but an Emirati official said it sent no distress call. The concern over its status comes as Iran continues its own high-pressure campaign over its nuclear program after President Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the accord more than a year ago.
Recently, Iran has inched its uranium production and enrichment over the limits of the 2015 nuclear deal, trying to put more pressure on Europe to offer it better terms and allow it to sell its crude oil abroad, now forbidden under renewed U.S. sanctions.
However, those tensions also have seen the U.S. send thousands of additional troops, nuclear-capable B-52 bombers and advanced fighter jets to the Mideast. Mysterious attacks on oil tankers and Iran shooting down a U.S. military surveillance drone have added to the fears of an armed conflict breaking out.
The 190-foot Riah typically made trips from Dubai and Sharjah on the Emirates’ west coast before going through the strait and heading to Fujairah on the east coast. However, something happened to the vessel after 11 p.m. Saturday, according to tracking data.
Capt. Ranjith Raja of the data firm Refinitiv told the Associated Press on Tuesday that the tanker hadn’t switched off its tracking in three months of trips around the Emirates. “That is a red flag,” Raja said.
A U.S. defense official later told the AP that the Riah was in Iranian territorial waters near Qeshm Island, which has a Revolutionary Guard base on it.
“We certainly have suspicions that it was taken,” the official said. “Could it have broken down or been towed for assistance? That’s a possibility. But the longer there is a period of no contact ... it’s going to be a concern.”
The official spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter did not directly involve U.S. interests.
An Emirati official, speaking on condition of anonymity in discussing an ongoing security matter, said the vessel “did not emit a distress call.”
“We are monitoring the situation with our international partners,” the official said.
Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi as saying Iran had helped an unnamed tanker by towing it to an Iranian port, without elaborating.