Iran news: US believes Iranians seized oil tanker Riah in Persian Gulf as top US commander seeks naval flotilla with allies - CBS News

Tensions with Iran remained high on Wednesday as mystery swirled around the whereabouts and status of an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf. CBS News senior national security correspondent David Martin says U.S. officials believe Iran has seized the small coastal tanker along with its crew of 25 people.

Iran has said it responded to a distress call from the Panamanian-flagged tanker MT Riah, based in the United Arab Emirates, and came to its rescue. But no other nation has reported receiving a distress call from the Riah, which was seen being escorted by Iranian naval vessels after the transponder that automatically reports its location was switched off on Saturday. At last report, the ship was anchored off Iran's Qeshm island, which hosts a number of bases belonging to the Islamic Republic's elite Revolutionary Guard force. 

Martin is the only U.S. network correspondent travelling with the top U.S. military commander for the Middle East as he tours the region.

Nuclear Iran More

More in Nuclear Iran

On Wednesday, Gen. Frank McKenzie visited the Maritime Security Center in the country of Oman, just outside the Persian Gulf. The center, run jointly by the U.S. and Oman, opened just last year. From the facility, the U.S. and its partners keep track of the more than 100 ships that traverse the Persian Gulf every day.

"I think this is a great example of partners in the region that are doing what they can to provide for freedom of navigation in the area," McKenzie told CBS News. "I think this is an excellent example of Oman doing the best they can with the capabilities they've got. We help them, they help us. It's an international effort and I think it's a great statement of what we need to be doing here in the region."

McKenzie is trying to set up an international flotilla of ships that would keep the vital maritime traffic in the Gulf safe from Iranian interference.

U.S. fears Iran seized UAE-based tanker in Strait of Hormuz

"It's really an international problem," the U.S. Marine Corps general told Martin. "It's not a United States problem -- although certainly the nations that immediately abut the Strait of Hormuz have a special responsibility to ensure freedom of navigation, of commerce that flows through for the world."

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow passage that serves as the gateway to the Persian Gulf. A third of the world's shipped oil supply passes through the strait every year, and any threat to that traffic can have a rapid and significant impact on global oil prices.

In the past two weeks, Iran has attempted to seize a British tanker, and apparently hijacked the smaller Riah -- although the Iranians claim they were merely helping a vessel in distress.

U.S. flexes military muscle near Iran after tanker attacks

The U.S. has overwhelming firepower in the area, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which is operating just outside the Persian Gulf. But the U.S. does not want to get into the business of escorting ships into and out of the Gulf.

President Trump has approved an operation in which U.S. warships would act as sentinels at the entrance to the Gulf -- as long as other countries that are more dependent on Middle East oi, agree to pick up 80 to 90 percent of the cost. 

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2019-07-17 10:35:00Z
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Iran Says It Aided Foreign Tanker, Amid Reports of Missing U.A.E. Ship - The New York Times

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has said that security forces recently came to the aid of a foreign oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, hours after reports that Iran might have seized a tanker from the United Arab Emirates in the area.

Abbas Mousavi, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said that Iranian forces had rushed to the aid of an unidentified tanker that had sent a distress call after a “technical glitch,” according to reports Tuesday night from the semiofficial Iranian news agency Press TV. He said that tugboats had towed it toward Iranian waters for repairs.

Mr. Mousavi did not say what nation the ship was from, who owned it or what its current status was. He said more information would come later.

Why This Narrow Strait Next to Iran Is So Critical to the World’s Oil Supply

Twenty percent of the global oil supply flows past Iran through the Strait of Hormuz.

The comments came after reports that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran may have seized a United Arab Emirates tanker in the Persian Gulf over the weekend. Such a move would be the latest in a series of confrontations in the region that have raised fears of an armed conflict.

The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that an Emirati tanker with a Panama flag, the Riah, disappeared while passing through the Strait of Hormuz late Saturday. The report cited a United States defense official who said there were suspicions that the tanker had been seized by the Revolutionary Guards.

The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, and 20 percent of the world’s oil passes through the narrow waterway. In recent weeks, it has been the site of several tense episodes that have increasingly strained the relationship between Iran and the United States.

Early this month, British forces seized an Iranian tanker near Gibraltar on suspicion that it was carrying oil to Syria, in violation of European Union sanctions. Iranian officials said the seizure occurred at the request of the United States, and warned of retaliatory action.

Video

A Times analysis of a video and images publicly released by the U.S. Defense Department indicates that an Iranian patrol boat removed an object from a tanker in the Gulf of Oman on June 13 that may have been a limpet mine.CreditCreditU.S. Dept. of Defense

British officials said last week that Iranian forces has tried to block a British tanker from passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian boats backed off after the British naval vessel issued “verbal warnings.”

Six tankers were damaged in May and June in the Gulf of Oman. The United States said the incidents were attacks by Iran, which Tehran has denied. Last month, Iran downed an American surveillance drone in the same area, a move that nearly resulted in military strikes by the United States.

Last year, President Trump pulled the United States from the 2015 agreement that limited Iran’s nuclear development in exchange for the easing of economic sanctions.

After the Trump administration announced new sanctions on Iran in May, Tehran set a deadline for the deal’s European signatories to come up with a strategy to ease the economic impact. Since that deadline expired, Iran has begun slowly reducing its compliance with the accord.

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2019-07-17 08:11:33Z
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A new trade war is brewing among US allies Japan and South Korea - Quartz

Japan and South Korea, two of the US’s closest allies in Asia, are locked in a trade dispute that threatens both crown jewel Samsung Electronics and the global smartphone supply chain.

On July 1, citing national security concerns, Japan placed restrictions on exports to South Korea of three chemical materials crucial for the manufacture of semiconductors and screens used in smartphones and televisions. That poses a huge headache for companies like Samsung, SK Hynix and LG Display, which rely heavily on Japan, the most important source for the chemicals globally. Tokyo’s official statement said that some South Korean companies weren’t properly managing the chemicals, while a Japanese report said some supplies may have ended up with North Korea. Seoul disputes that, and says it has enforced trade restrictions on sensitive materials and on North Korea.

The dispute could escalate next week, when Japan is due to make an announcement on whether it’s removing South Korea from a list of the country’s preferred trading partners, which would require Japanese firms to obtain additional export verifications on hundreds of products before selling them to Korean companies. The US has said it has no plans to mediate between its two allies, vital to its aims of balancing China and addressing the threat from North Korea, and called for them to “sit down and talk.” But bilateral talks have failed to yield progress and yesterday (July 16) Seoul rejected Tokyo’s proposal of third-party arbitration.

In the short term, Japan’s move hasn’t hurt the companies’ share prices—in fact investors are hopeful the spat could reduce the oversupply of chips (paywall) that has been driving down chip prices and earnings for Samsung and others. Since the companies have some inventory of the materials on hand, it could take a few months for the impact on customers of South Korean chips and screens, such as Apple and Huawei, to become clearer.

Japan’s actions parallel US moves to restrict Huawei’s access to its supply chain, by blocking American companies from doing business with the Chinese smartphone and telecom equipment maker in May, also citing national security concerns. That move was relaxed (paywall) after presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the G20 summit hosted by Japan, and agreed to restart trade talks to address their tensions.

The roots of this spat, though, are far older than the US-China economic rivalry or security concerns, and the relationship between Korea and Japan is a complex one, weighed down by their 20th century history. South Korea’s rancor relating to the occupation by Japan from 1910-1945, and wartime oppression that included forcing Koreans into prostitution and to work in factories in Japan, remains deep, and many feel Japan hasn’t atoned enough for the past. Those wounds fester in spite of contemporary ties that have seen Korean TV shows, pop stars, and beauty trends become hugely popular in Japan, while Korea sends the most tourists to Japan, after China.

Relations have spiraled downward since a South Korean Supreme Court ruling last year ordering Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest steelmaker, to pay nearly $90,000 to a surviving worker, and to the families of three other Koreans forced into labor during World War II. Other judgments against Japanese companies for forced labor claims have followed, and more cases are in South Korean courts. Tokyo’s stance is that the issue of compensation was addressed with a 1965 treaty that normalized the relationship between the two countries, and saw Japan give hundreds of millions of dollars in aid and loans.

A notice at a Seoul store urges shoppers to boycott Japanese products.

Then, Japan Times, the oldest English-language newspaper in the country, sparked outrage late last year when it announced it would replace the term of “forced labour” with “wartime laborers,”  a move that critics say aligns the paper with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s agenda of reshaping wartime history.

South Korean president Moon Jae-in has described the situation as “an unprecedented emergency,” and though South Korean companies say they are looking for alternate supplies, the two countries’ technology sectors are closely intertwined.

“I am unsure how Korea will be able to replace Japan’s inputs for their finished products,” said Bryan Mercurio, an expert on international trade law at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “Likewise, I can’t see an easy export replacement for Japanese products, and do not believe domestic companies will be able to absorb all the components.”

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2019-07-17 07:59:00Z
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Vietnam, China embroiled in South China Sea standoff - Reuters

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnamese and Chinese ships have been embroiled in a weeks-long standoff near an offshore oil block in disputed waters of the South China Sea, which fall within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone, two Washington-based think-tanks said on Wednesday.

FILE PHOTO: Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (2nd L, front) and Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh (2nd R, front) speaks with sailors of Coast Guard Force on field via video call during their visit to Coast Guard Command in Hanoi, Vietnam July 11, 2019. Thong Nhat/VNA via REUTERS.

China’s U-shaped “nine-dash line” marks a vast expanse of the South China Sea that it claims, including large swathes of Vietnam’s continental shelf where it has awarded oil concessions.

The Haiyang Dizhi 8, a ship operated by the China Geological Survey, on Monday completed a 12-day survey of waters near the disputed Spratly Islands, according to separate reports by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS)

One of the oil blocks it surveyed is licensed by Vietnam to Spanish energy firm Repsol (REP.MC), which was forced last year and in 2017 to cease operations in Vietnamese waters because of pressure from China.

As the Haiyang Dizhi 8 conducted its survey, nine Vietnamese vessels closely followed it. The Chinese ship was escorted by three China Coast Guard vessels, according to data from Winward Maritime, compiled by C4ADS.

In a separate incident days earlier, the China Coast Guard ship Haijing 35111 maneuvered in what CSIS described as a “threatening manner” toward Vietnamese vessels servicing a Japanese-owned oil rig, the Hakuryu-5, leased by Russian state oil firm Rosneft (ROSN.MM) in Vietnam’s Block 06.1, 370 km (230 miles) southeast of Vietnam.

That block is within the area outlined by China’s “nine-dash line”. A series of dashes on Chinese maps, the line is not continuous, making China’s claims often ambiguous.

Last year, Reuters exclusively reported that Rosneft Vietnam BV, a unit of Rosneft, was concerned that its drilling in Block 06.1 would upset China.

“On July 2 the vessels were leaving the Hakuryu-5 when the 35111 maneuvered between them at high speed, passing within 100 meters of each ship and less than half a nautical mile from the rig,” CSIS said in its report.

It was not clear on Wednesday if any Chinese ships were still challenging the Rosneft rig.

In 2014, tension between Vietnam and China rose to its highest levels in decades when a Chinese oil rig started drilling in Vietnamese waters. The incident triggered boat rammings by both sides and anti-China riots in Vietnam.

‘READY TO FIGHT’

In response to reports of this month’s standoff, which first emerged on social media, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on July 12 that China’s position on the South China Sea was “clear and consistent”.

“China resolutely safeguards its sovereignty in the South China Sea and maritime rights, and at the same time upholds controlling disputes with relevant countries via negotiations and consultations,” Geng said, without elaborating.

On Tuesday, Vietnam’s foreign ministry released a statement in response to unspecified “recent developments” in the South China Sea.

“Without Vietnam’s permission, all actions undertaken by foreign parties in Vietnamese waters have no legal effect, and constitute encroachments in Vietnamese waters, and violations of international law,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said.

Neither statements confirmed or elaborated on the standoff.

Neither Rosneft nor Repsol immediately responded to an emailed request from Reuters for comment.

In a new statement on Wednesday, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Geng acknowledged that there had been an incident with Vietnam.

“We hope the Vietnam side can earnestly respect China’s sovereignty, rights, and jurisdiction over the relevant waters, and not take any actions that could complicate the situation,” Geng told a regular news conference.

On July 11, as China was conducting its survey of the blocks, Vietnam’s prime minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, visited the headquarters of the Vietnam Coast Guard in Hanoi.

State media did not mention the incident, but showed Phuc speaking to sailors on board vessels via a video link.

Phuc told the sailors to “stay vigilant and ready to fight” and to be aware of “unpredictable developments”, the Vietnam Coast Guard said in a statement on its website.

On the same day, Vietnam’s national assembly chairwoman, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, met her Chinese counterpart, Li Zhanshu, in Beijing, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.

The two officials agreed to “jointly safeguard peace and stability at sea”, Xinhua said.

Reporting by James Pearson and Khanh Vu; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard and Michael Martina in Beijing; Editing by Robert Birsel

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2019-07-17 06:53:00Z
CBMigAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5yZXV0ZXJzLmNvbS9hcnRpY2xlL3VzLXZpZXRuYW0tY2hpbmEtc291dGhjaGluYXNlYS92aWV0bmFtLWNoaW5hLWVtYnJvaWxlZC1pbi1zb3V0aC1jaGluYS1zZWEtc3RhbmRvZmYtaWRVU0tDTjFVQzBNWNIBNGh0dHBzOi8vbW9iaWxlLnJldXRlcnMuY29tL2FydGljbGUvYW1wL2lkVVNLQ04xVUMwTVg

US slaps sanctions on Myanmar army chief over Rohingya abuses - Al Jazeera English

The United States has announced sanctions on Myanmar's military Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing and three other military leaders due to their role in the "ethnic cleansing" of the Rohingya minority.

The State Department said on Tuesday it took action after finding credible evidence they were involved in the violence two years ago that led about 740,000 Rohingya to flee across the border to Bangladesh.

"With this announcement, the United States is the first government to publicly take action with respect to the most senior leadership of the Burmese military," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

"We remain concerned that the Burmese government has taken no actions to hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations and abuses, and there are continued reports of the Burmese military committing human rights violations and abuses throughout the country," he added.

A brutal military crackdown forced about 740,000 Rohingya to flee across the border to Bangladesh [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters]

Also sanctioned were Deputy Commander-in-Chief Soe Win, Brigadier General Than Oo and Brigadier General Aung Aung, as well as the families of all four officers.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar refuses to grant the mostly Muslim Rohingya citizenship or basic rights and refers to them as "Bengalis", inferring that the Rohingya are undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh.

151024190547465

United Nations investigators say the violence warrants the prosecution of top generals for "genocide" and the International Criminal Court has started a preliminary probe.

Pompeo repeated the 2017 finding of his predecessor, Rex Tillerson, that the killings amounted to "ethnic cleansing" - while stopping short of using the term genocide.

Pompeo voiced particular outrage that Myanmar in May ordered the release of seven soldiers convicted of killing Rohingya villagers, serving less time than two Reuters journalists jailed for more than 500 days after exposing the deaths.

He called it an "egregious example of the continued and severe lack of accountability for the military and its senior leadership".

The sanctions notably do not affect Aung San Suu Kyi, the former political prisoner who has risen to become the country's de-facto civilian ruler.

The Nobel laureate has been criticised over her "indifference" to the atrocities committed by the military against the Rohingya, considered "the most prosecuted minority in the world".

The sanctions are the most visible sign of US disappointment with Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, since it launched political reforms in 2011, with the military rulers reconciling with Washington and eventually allowing an elected political leadership.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been criticised over her "indifference" to the atrocities committed by the military against the Rohingya [Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters]

Matthew Smith, the cofounder and chief executive officer at Fortify Rights, welcomed the sanctions but said the US could do more.

"This is good news if this is the first measure the US will take in addressing genocide in Myanmar against the Rohingya people. It's bad news if this is all Secretary Pompeo and the US administration are planning to do. We are hopeful they will do more," Smith told Al Jazeera from Washington, DC.

"The impact [of the sanctions] can be serious. This will flag the responsibility of these individuals for international prosecutors, for example, the International Criminal Court, and it will give pause to business leaders going to Myanmar in doing business with military-owned enterprises."

'Xenophobic and racist attitudes'

Erin Murphy, a former State Department official closely involved in the thaw in US ties with Myanmar, said the ban would affect not so much the generals directly, but their children or grandchildren who want to come to the US as tourists or students.

While saying the travel ban provided a tool to encourage change, she doubted it would change attitudes towards the Rohingya, who are "almost a universally despised population".

"You're talking about changing deeply held xenophobic and racist attitudes and a travel ban alone isn't going to change that," said Murphy, founder and principal of the Inle Advisory Group, which specialises in Myanmar.

You're talking about changing deeply held xenophobic and racist attitudes and a travel ban alone isn't going to change that.

Erin Murphy, a Myanmar expert

The US last year imposed sanctions on more junior Myanmar security officials although the effect was more sweeping, with economic restrictions.

A State Department study released last year described the violence against Rohingya as "extreme, large-scale, widespread and seemingly geared toward both terrorising the population and driving out the Rohingya residents", including widespread rape and the burning of villages.

Doctors Without Borders has estimated that at least 6,700 Rohingya were killed in the first month of the crackdown that was launched in August 2017.

Myanmar's army has denied virtually any wrongdoing and said it was responding to Rohingya armed rebels.

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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/slaps-sanctions-myanmar-army-chief-rohingya-abuses-190716232914447.html

2019-07-17 06:30:00Z
CAIiEF9jEVGLepKC-MjkdWDHoBAqFAgEKgwIACoFCAowhgIwkDgw0O8B

US slaps sanctions on Myanmar army chief over Rohingya abuses - Al Jazeera English

The United States on Tuesday announced sanctions on Myanmar's military Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing and other military leaders due to their role in the "ethnic cleansing" of the Rohingya minority.

The State Department said it took action against army chief Min Aung Hlaing and three others after finding credible evidence they were involved in the violence two years ago that led about 740,000 Rohingya to flee across the border to Bangladesh.

"With this announcement, the United States is the first government to publicly take action with respect to the most senior leadership of the Burmese military," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

A brutal military crackdown forced about 740,000 Rohingya to flee across the border to Bangladesh [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters]

"We remain concerned that the Burmese government has taken no actions to hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations and abuses, and there are continued reports of the Burmese military committing human rights violations and abuses throughout the country," he said in a statement.

Also sanctioned were Deputy Commander-in-Chief Soe Win, Brigadier General Than Oo and Brigadier General Aung Aung as well as the families of all four officers.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar refuses to grant the mostly Muslim Rohingya citizenship or basic rights and refers to them as "Bengalis," inferring that the Rohingya are undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh.

151024190547465

UN investigators say the violence warrants the prosecution of top generals for "genocide" and the International Criminal Court has started a preliminary probe.

Pompeo, issuing a statement during a major meeting at the State Department on religious freedom, repeated the 2017 finding of his predecessor Rex Tillerson that the killings amounted to "ethnic cleansing" - while stopping short of using the term genocide.

The sanctions notably do not impact Aung San Suu Kyi, the former political prisoner who has risen to become the country's de-facto civilian ruler.

The Nobel laureate has been criticised over her "indifference" to the atrocities committed by the military against the Rohingya, considered "the most prosecuted minority in the world".

The sanctions are the most visible sign of US disappointment with Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, since it launched political reforms in 2011, with the military rulers reconciling with Washington and eventually allowing an elected political leadership.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been criticised over her "indifference" to the atrocities committed by the military against the Rohingya [Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters]

Matthew Smith, the cofounder and Chief Executive Officer at Fortify Rights, welcomed the sanctions but said the US could do more.

"This is good news if this is the first measure the US will take in addressing genocide in Myanmar against the Rohingya people. It's bad news if this is all secretary Pompeo and the US administration are planning to do. We are hopeful they will do more," Smith told Al Jazeera from Washington, DC.

"The impact [of the sanctions] can be serious. This will flag the responsibility of these individuals for international prosecutors, for example, the International Criminal Court, and it will give pause to business leaders going to Myanmar in doing business with military-owned enterprises.

'Xenophobic and racist attitudes'

Erin Murphy, a former State Department official closely involved in the thaw in US ties with Myanmar, said the ban would affect not so much the generals directly but their children or grandchildren who want to come to the US as tourists or students.

While saying the travel ban provided a tool to encourage change, she doubted it would change attitudes toward the Rohingya, who are "almost a universally despised population."

"You're talking about changing deeply held xenophobic and racist attitudes and a travel ban alone isn't going to change that," said Murphy, founder and principal of the Inle Advisory Group, which specialises in Myanmar.

You're talking about changing deeply held xenophobic and racist attitudes and a travel ban alone isn't going to change that.

Erin Murphy, a Myanmar expert

The US last year imposed sanctions on more junior Myanmar security officials although the impact was more sweeping, with economic restrictions.

A State Department study released last year described the violence against Rohingya as "extreme, large-scale, widespread and seemingly geared toward both terrorizing the population and driving out the Rohingya residents," including widespread rape and the burning of villages.

Doctors Without Borders has estimated that at least 6,700 Rohingya Muslims were killed in the first month of the crackdown that was launched in August 2017.

Myanmar's army has denied virtually any wrongdoing and said it was responding to Rohingya armed rebels.

Pompeo voiced particular outrage that Myanmar in May ordered the release of seven soldiers convicted of killing Rohingya villagers, serving less time than two Reuters journalists jailed for more than 500 days after exposing the deaths.

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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/slaps-sanctions-myanmar-army-chief-rohingya-abuses-190716232914447.html

2019-07-17 04:00:00Z
CAIiEF9jEVGLepKC-MjkdWDHoBAqFAgEKgwIACoFCAowhgIwkDgw0O8B

UAE-based oil tanker disappears in Iranian waters in the Strait of Hormuz - The Washington Post

DUBAI — An oil tanker based in the United Arab Emirates stopped in Iranian waters three days ago in the Strait of Hormuz and switched off its transponder, according to shipping tracking data, amid heightened tensions over a spate of incidents involving commercial vessels in the Persian Gulf. 

The Panama-flagged Riah stopped transmitting its position late Saturday and was last shown off the coast of Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. 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 had links to the UAE, saying that the ship was “neither UAE owned nor operated” and “does not carry Emirati personnel.”

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. 

 The U.S. 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, was “aware of the reports” but had no further details, said a spokeswoman, Lt. Christina Gibson.

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.

Read more:

Britain to ‘facilitate’ release of seized Iranian tanker — as long as it doesn’t go to Syria

Britain says it thwarted Iranian vessels from interfering with its tanker in the Strait of Hormuz

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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2019-07-16 15:16:41Z
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