Displaying items by tag: The Riah

Iran's state TV said on 18 July that the Revolutionary Guard had seized a foreign oil tanker with 12 crew members accused of smuggling one million litres of fuel in the Lark Island of the Persian Gulf. The guards said the vessel impounded was the same one it towed on the previous Sunday after it sent a distress call. The TV didn't identify the tanker or say which country the crew were from. There has been speculation earlier on the whereabouts of the Riah oil tanker, which sails under the Panama flag. At the time of writing it is not known whether the vessel towed by Iran was indeed the Riah. The US expressed suspicion that the Riah had been seized in Iranian territorial waters. US General Kenneth McKenzie said that they were talking to other countries about freedom of navigation in the Gulf and will work ‘aggressively’ to find a solution to enable free passage.