Iran Seizes Oil Tanker in Gulf of Oman Amid Tensions, Says US Navy

The US Navy’s 5th Fleet announced on Thursday that Iran had seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker named Advantage Sweet in the Gulf of Oman. This occurred amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington over Iran’s nuclear program. The vessel had just come from Kuwait and was headed for Houston, Texas. It issued a distress call during the seizure, according to the 5th Fleet. The seizure marks the latest in a string of hijackings and explosions that have roiled the region around the Strait of Hormuz since former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal. The US Navy has blamed Iran for a series of limpet mine attacks on vessels in 2019 and for a fatal drone attack on an Israeli-linked oil tanker that killed two European crew members in 2021. Tehran denies carrying out the attacks.