Iran's Elite IRGC Seizes Tanker In Strait Of Hormuz

Iran's Elite IRGC Seizes Tanker In Strait Of Hormuz

After a long period of relative quiet, the Strait of Hormuz is flaring up again as on Friday Iranian forces are reported to have seized a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker.

This is a first in a long time, but the Iranians are saying it is a somewhat 'routine' instance of intercepting a ship for "smuggling fuel", according to state IRNA. The Iranians are now claiming to be acting within the laws of the Islamic Republic.

?itok=kp9gsFV0

But it was clearly an international vessel, with a US official and a private maritime risk group saying it was forcibly diverted into Iranian territorial waters as it made its way through the narrow strait.

International reports have identified the tanker as the Talara, en route from Ajman in the United Arab Emirates to Singapore when it was intercepted.

Further, British maritime risk firm Vanguard has described that the vessel was seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) - which typically oversees such aggressive Iranian naval operations related to foreign vessels - and redirected toward Iranian waters.