Iranian oil tanker enters national waters in disregard of US blockade
The Iranian oil tanker Sili City entered Iran’s territorial waters on Monday night after crossing the Arabian Sea, with operational support from Iran’s Navy, the Army announced.
“Despite multiple warnings and threats from the naval group of the US Army, the Iranian tanker crossed the Arabian Sea under full security and with operational support from the Iranian Navy, entered Iranian territorial waters last night,” the Public Relations of Iran’s Army said in a statement on Tuesday.
It added that the tanker has been anchored for several hours at one of the southern ports of Iran.
The development comes as the US has imposed a so-called "blockade" on Iranian ports since last week in breach of the two-week ceasefire which began on April 8.
On Monday, the US military seized an Iranian container ship in the waters of the Sea of Oman. The US military deployed its forces onto the ship’s deck and disabled its navigation systems.
According to Iran’s military, the Armed Forces were ready to deal decisively with the American aggressor forces.
However, due to the presence of several family members of the ship’s crew — whose lives and safety were at constant risk — they faced certain limitations.
The military added that as soon as the safety of the families and crew of the vessel was assured, Iran’s powerful armed forces would take the necessary action against the terrorist US Army.
The US Department of Defense also said on Tuesday US forces have boarded an oil tanker previously sanctioned for carrying Iranian crude oil in Asia.
In a social media post, the Pentagon said the US forces “conducted a right-of-visit maritime interdiction” and boarded the M/T Tifani “without incident.”
Ship-tracking data showed the Tifani was carrying oil in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday between Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The Pentagon described the Tifani as “stateless” despite it being a Botswana-flagged vessel. The announcement did not say precisely where or what time Tuesday the ship was boarded.