US Claims Iranian Navy Briefly Seized Oil Tanker Near Strait Of Hormuz - Reports

Iranian naval forces boarded and seized an oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz for approximately five hours, the Associated Press (AP) reported on Thursday, citing a US military official

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th August, 2020) Iranian naval forces boarded and seized an oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz for approximately five hours, the Associated Press (AP) reported on Thursday, citing a US military official.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that two Iranian military ships and a helicopter overtook and boarded MV [Merchant Vessel] Willa, a Liberian-flagged oil tanker in the strait. CENTCOM has also posted a video that allegedly shows Iranian special forces fast-roping from the helicopter onto the oil tanker.

The official anonymously told AP that Iran seized MV Willa for five hours, but the vessel did not make any distress calls. The AP also reported that the United States military did not provide any reasons as to why Iran seized the oil tanker.

The strategically-important Strait of Hormuz provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. Nearly 25 percent of all global oil supplies pass through the strait.