An oil tanker based in the United Arab Emirates is missing after it stopped in Iranian waters three days ago and switched off its transponder, raising concerns that it may have been seized by Iran amid heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf.
Shipping tracking data showed that the Panama-flagged Riah stopped transmitting its position late Saturday when it was off the coast of Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has a base.
Data showed that the ship was on its way to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates before diverting sharply and slowing to a halt in Iranian territorial waters.
An Emirati official denied that the tanker has links to the UAE, saying that the ship is “neither UAE owned nor operated” and “does not carry Emirati personnel.”
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It “did not emit a distress call,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The Riah, a small oil-products tanker, is listed on vessel tracking websites as registered to Prime Tankers in Dubai.
Jeremy Hunt: 'Small window' to save Iran nuclear deal
As European foreign ministers gathered in Brussels on July 15, Britain's Jeremy Hunt said there was still time to save the landmark Iran nuclear deal. (Reuters)
The U.S. 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, was “aware of the reports” but had no further details, said a spokeswoman, Lt. Christina Gibson.
A U.S. defense official said the United States “has suspicions” that Iran seized the tanker, the Associated Press reported, in the latest of a spate of incidents involving commercial vessels in or near the Persian Gulf. The unidentified official said the tanker’s crew had yet to contact its owners or UAE authorities, the news agency said.
Since May, at least six vessels have been attacked near the strait, the world’s most important oil choke point, in incidents that the United States has blamed on Iran. Britain said last week that Iranian naval forces attempted to block a British oil tanker traversing the strait but were repelled by a navy frigate escorting the ship.
Iran has denied involvement in the incidents but also threatened to retaliate against British shipping interests after an Iranian oil tanker was seized off the coast of Gibraltar earlier this month.
The vessel, the Grace 1, was carrying 2.1 million barrels of light crude oil and was suspected of seeking to travel to the Syrian port of Baniyas in violation of European Union sanctions, authorities in Gibraltar said. Gibraltar is a British territory.
“The vicious British government committed piracy and attacked our ship,” Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a speech Tuesday. Iran “will not leave such acts without a response,” he warned.
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Saturday that Britain would help facilitate the Grace 1’s release if Iran could provide guarantees that the ship’s cargo would not go to Syria. Iran has said that it is not subject to E.U. sanctions.
[Europe scrambles to save Iran deal, warning it’s ‘very close’ to unraveling]
The confrontation comes as Europe struggles to keep Iran in a nuclear deal it struck with world powers in 2015, following a U.S. withdrawal from the pact last year.
The agreement curbed Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for major sanctions relief, including from the United States. The Trump administration violated the accord and reimposed sanctions on Iran in the fall, prompting Tehran to scale back its own commitments under the deal, Iranian officials said.
European nations have urged Iran to reverse recent moves to breach the agreement, including boosting uranium-enrichment levels beyond a limit set by the deal. Iran says it will continue to reduce its obligations to the nuclear pact in 60-day intervals until Europe compensates Tehran for economic losses suffered as a result of U.S. sanctions.
Also Tuesday, Iran’s judiciary confirmed the arrest of French Iranian scholar Fariba Adelkhah, the latest dual national to be detained by Iranian security forces. French President Emmanuel Macron called on Tehran on Monday to explain why Adelkhah, 60, was arrested.
“What has happened worries me a great deal,” Macron told reporters during a visit to Belgrade, Agence France-Presse reported.
“I have expressed my disagreement and asked President [Hassan] Rouhani for clarification,” he said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...7f0e60391e9_story.html?utm_term=.6a1f4b6d919b
Shipping tracking data showed that the Panama-flagged Riah stopped transmitting its position late Saturday when it was off the coast of Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has a base.
Data showed that the ship was on its way to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates before diverting sharply and slowing to a halt in Iranian territorial waters.
An Emirati official denied that the tanker has links to the UAE, saying that the ship is “neither UAE owned nor operated” and “does not carry Emirati personnel.”
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It “did not emit a distress call,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The Riah, a small oil-products tanker, is listed on vessel tracking websites as registered to Prime Tankers in Dubai.
Jeremy Hunt: 'Small window' to save Iran nuclear deal
As European foreign ministers gathered in Brussels on July 15, Britain's Jeremy Hunt said there was still time to save the landmark Iran nuclear deal. (Reuters)
The U.S. 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, was “aware of the reports” but had no further details, said a spokeswoman, Lt. Christina Gibson.
A U.S. defense official said the United States “has suspicions” that Iran seized the tanker, the Associated Press reported, in the latest of a spate of incidents involving commercial vessels in or near the Persian Gulf. The unidentified official said the tanker’s crew had yet to contact its owners or UAE authorities, the news agency said.
Since May, at least six vessels have been attacked near the strait, the world’s most important oil choke point, in incidents that the United States has blamed on Iran. Britain said last week that Iranian naval forces attempted to block a British oil tanker traversing the strait but were repelled by a navy frigate escorting the ship.
Iran has denied involvement in the incidents but also threatened to retaliate against British shipping interests after an Iranian oil tanker was seized off the coast of Gibraltar earlier this month.
The vessel, the Grace 1, was carrying 2.1 million barrels of light crude oil and was suspected of seeking to travel to the Syrian port of Baniyas in violation of European Union sanctions, authorities in Gibraltar said. Gibraltar is a British territory.
“The vicious British government committed piracy and attacked our ship,” Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a speech Tuesday. Iran “will not leave such acts without a response,” he warned.
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Saturday that Britain would help facilitate the Grace 1’s release if Iran could provide guarantees that the ship’s cargo would not go to Syria. Iran has said that it is not subject to E.U. sanctions.
[Europe scrambles to save Iran deal, warning it’s ‘very close’ to unraveling]
The confrontation comes as Europe struggles to keep Iran in a nuclear deal it struck with world powers in 2015, following a U.S. withdrawal from the pact last year.
The agreement curbed Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for major sanctions relief, including from the United States. The Trump administration violated the accord and reimposed sanctions on Iran in the fall, prompting Tehran to scale back its own commitments under the deal, Iranian officials said.
European nations have urged Iran to reverse recent moves to breach the agreement, including boosting uranium-enrichment levels beyond a limit set by the deal. Iran says it will continue to reduce its obligations to the nuclear pact in 60-day intervals until Europe compensates Tehran for economic losses suffered as a result of U.S. sanctions.
Also Tuesday, Iran’s judiciary confirmed the arrest of French Iranian scholar Fariba Adelkhah, the latest dual national to be detained by Iranian security forces. French President Emmanuel Macron called on Tehran on Monday to explain why Adelkhah, 60, was arrested.
“What has happened worries me a great deal,” Macron told reporters during a visit to Belgrade, Agence France-Presse reported.
“I have expressed my disagreement and asked President [Hassan] Rouhani for clarification,” he said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...7f0e60391e9_story.html?utm_term=.6a1f4b6d919b
