Over the past two years, the IRGC has attacked or disabled 15 tankers
The United States is building up its military presence in the Middle East, accusing Iran of seizing tankers. Tehran “has no excuse for these actions,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
The US military is working with allies to send more ships and aircraft to the Middle East as Iran steps up its seizure of merchant tankers, the US National Security Council announced Friday.
“Today, the Department of Defense will take a series of steps to strengthen our defensive posture in the Persian Gulf,” NSS spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
The announcement, according to Politico, was made after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps took over the Panama-flagged oil tanker Niovi on May 3 as the ship passed through the Strait of Hormuz. The tanker left Dubai for a UAE port when a dozen IRGC Navy boats forced the tanker into Iranian waters.
Another incident occurred on April 27, when the Marshall Islands tanker Advantage Sweet was also hijacked after colliding with an Iranian boat, injuring several crew members, Iranian state media reported.
Over the past two years, the IRGC has attacked or disabled 15 tankers as tensions between Iran and the US rise over the country's nuclear program.
John Kirby said he would «provide more details about these reinforcements» within a few days. Washington will also step up its coordination with the International Maritime Safety Organization, an 11-nation group formed to help protect merchant shipping in the region.
The Iranian government has «no justification for these actions,» Kirby said, adding that the US “will not allow foreign or regional powers to jeopardize the freedom of navigation in the waterways of the Middle East, including the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandab.”
Vice admiral. Brad Cooper, head of US Naval Central Command, also said in a statement that «Iran's unreasonable, irresponsible and illegal seizure and harassment of merchant ships must stop.»
Last week, the Associated Press reported that, according to satellite photos, two oil tankers recently seized by Iran were anchored off the coast of one of its key port cities in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. Photos showed that the Sweet and Niovi tankers were located south of Bandar Abbas, near a naval base in a port city in the Iranian province of Hormozgan. Their seizure represents only the latest hijacking by Iran amid tensions with the West over its booming nuclear program, although it appears the two ships may have been hijacked for different reasons.
Iran seized the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel Advantage Sweet carrying 23 Indians and one Russian on April 27 while it was in the Gulf of Oman. Tehran claimed the vessel collided with another vessel.
At the time of the hijacking, the Advantage Sweet was carrying Kuwaiti crude oil for the American energy company Chevron Corp. from San Ramon, California. And its capture comes after another tanker believed to be carrying Iranian crude oil disappeared from Anchorage off the coast of Singapore a year after it was found to have been trying to circumvent US sanctions.
The Financial Times, as well as maritime intelligence firm Ambrey, reported that the vessel, called the Suez Rajan, was hijacked on orders from US authorities.
Satellite imagery showed a second vessel, the Niovi, a Panama-flagged tanker, that was hijacked by an Iranian paramilitary revolutionary Guards on Wednesday as it left dry dock in Dubai bound for Fujairah on the east coast of the UAE. Although there was no cargo on board, data from S&P Global Market Intelligence seen by the Associated Press showed that the Niovi tanker was receiving oil from what was then known as Oman Pride in July 2020.
Treasury Department The U.S. sanctioned the Oman Pride and others associated with the vessel in August 2021 for being «involved in an international oil smuggling network» that supported the Quds Force, the Revolutionary Guard expeditionary unit operating in the Middle East, Associated reports. Press. The Greek Coast Guard said Greek, Filipino and Sri Lankan sailors were on board the Niovi.