The Iranian Navy seized an oil tanker in the waters of the Gulf of Oman following "a court order" authorizing the move. This was reported by state media. "The Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran has seized an American oil tanker in the waters of the Gulf of Oman in accordance with a court order," the official IRNA news agency said. The UK's Maritime Safety Agency (UKMTO) and private company Ambrey had earlier announced that gunmen "in military uniform" had boarded an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman.
The seizure was in revenge for the "theft" of oil suffered last year by the same tanker by the United States. The ship in question would be the St. Nikolas, the same one that this morning would have been boarded by armed intruders while sailing near the city of Sohar, Oman. The tanker was seized by the U.S. last year as part of a sanctions enforcement operation when it was sailing under a different name, Suez Rajan. Following the move, Iran warned the United States that it "will not go unanswered." "The oil tanker St Nikolas was seized by the Iranian Navy this morning by a judicial order... is en route to Iranian ports," the semi-official Fars news agency reported, citing a Navy statement.
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