DUBAI: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Thursday seized a commercial ship in the Gulf, the US Navy said, a day after it had accused Iranian forces of two similar attempts off Oman.
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forcibly seized a commercial vessel possibly engaged in smuggling activity,” the Bahrain-based US Navy’s Fifth Fleet said in a statement.
US forces monitored the incident in international waters, it added, but “assessed the circumstances of this event did not warrant further response.”
The statement did not identify the commercial ship.
“US forces remain vigilant and ready to protect navigational rights of lawful maritime traffic in the Middle East’s critical waters,” it said.
In recent years, Washington and Tehran have traded accusations over a series of incidents in the tense Gulf waterways that are vital to the global oil trade.
On Wednesday, the US Navy said it had blocked two attempts by the Iranian navy to seize commercial tankers in international waters off Oman, including one case in which the Iranians fired shots.
In both cases, the US Central Command said the Iranians departed after a US destroyer appeared on the scene.
The maritime services in Iran said one of the two tankers, the Bahamian-flagged Richmond Voyager, had collided with an Iranian vessel, seriously injuring five crew members, according to state news agency IRNA.
They said the collision had occurred on Tuesday and that it damaged and caused the flooding of the Iranian vessel.
“The Richmond Voyager continued on its way, regardless of international maritime rules and regulations,” IRNA said, adding a court order had been issued for Iran’s navy to seize the tanker.
The news agency said the tanker changed course before entering Oman’s territorial waters.
Iran said it had referred the matter to the “friendly” Sultanate of Oman, which has mediated talks between the Islamic republic and the United States, and that it was seeking the vessel’s seizure.
In April and early May, Iran seized two tankers within a week in regional waters.
In one case, helicopter-borne Iranian navy commandos abseiled onto the deck of a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker, the Advantage Sweet, in the Gulf of Oman.
Iran was also accused of launching a drone attack against an Israeli-owned tanker in November 2022, stoking tensions with the United States.
There has been a spate of such incidents since 2018, when then US president Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal and reimposed crippling sanctions on the Islamic republic, sending tensions soaring.
Talks aimed at reviving the accord remain stalled, but have recently resumed with Oman as an intermediary.
Iran Guards seize commercial ship in Gulf: US Navy
https://arab.news/69xty
Iran Guards seize commercial ship in Gulf: US Navy
- US Navy: ‘The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forcibly seized a commercial vessel possibly engaged in smuggling activity’
- US Navy: ‘US forces remain vigilant and ready to protect navigational rights of lawful maritime traffic in the Middle East’s critical waters’
UN, aid groups warn Gaza operations at risk from Israel impediments
- Dozens of international aid groups face de-registration by December 31, which then means they have to close operations within 60 days
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations and aid groups warned on Wednesday that humanitarian operations in the Palestinian territories, particularly Gaza, were at risk of collapse if Israel does not lift impediments that include a “vague, arbitrary, and highly politicized” registration process.
Dozens of international aid groups face de-registration by December 31, which then means they have to close operations within 60 days, said the UN and more than 200 local and international aid groups in a joint statement.
“The deregistration of INGOs (international aid groups) in Gaza will have a catastrophic impact on access to essential and basic services,” the statement read.
“INGOs run or support the majority of field hospitals, primary health care centers, emergency shelter responses, water and sanitation services, nutrition stabilization centers for children with acute malnutrition, and critical mine action activities,” it said.
SUPPLIES LEFT OUT OF REACH: GROUPS
While some international aid groups have been registered under the system that was introduced in March, “the ongoing re-registration process and other arbitrary hindrances to humanitarian operations have left millions of dollars’ worth of essential supplies — including food, medical items, hygiene materials, and shelter assistance — stuck outside of Gaza and unable to reach people in need,” the statement read.
Israel’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the statement. Under the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, a fragile ceasefire in the two-year-old war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas began on October 10. Hamas released hostages, Israel freed detained Palestinians and more aid began flowing into the enclave where a global hunger monitor said in August famine had taken hold.
However, Hamas says fewer aid trucks are entering Gaza than was agreed. Aid agencies say there is far less aid than required, and that Israel is blocking many necessary items from coming in. Israel denies that and says it is abiding by its obligations under the truce.
“The UN will not be able to compensate for the collapse of INGOs’ operations if they are de-registered, and the humanitarian response cannot be replaced by alternative actors operating outside established humanitarian principles,” the statement by the UN and aid groups said.
The statement stressed “humanitarian access is not optional, conditional or political,” adding: “Lifesaving assistance must be allowed to reach Palestinians without further delay.”
