Illustrative image. (U.S. Central Command)
The United States military had seized an Iran-linked oil tanker in the Indian Ocean, the Wall Street Journal reported on May 19.
According to the report, the tanker, known as the Skywave, was sanctioned by the U.S. back in March for its role in transporting Iranian oil and was likely carrying more than one million barrels of crude loaded at Iran’s Kharg Island sometime in February.
The Wall Street Journal, citing brokers and data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence, said that the tanker was operating in an area known for shadowy ship-to-ship oil transfers.
The U.S. military has not yet commented on the report. However, the Central Command said that its forces “continue total enforcement of the U.S. blockade against Iran, stopping the flow of commerce into and out of Iranian ports.”
A total of 89 commercial vessels have been redirected to “ensure compliance,” the command added in a post to X, attaching footage of its helicopters flying near an unidentified vessel.
The seizure came just a day after the U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he called off a planned military attack on Iran after the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates urged him to hold off as “serious negotiations” were underway.
He said in a post on Truth Social that, out of respect for the three Persian Gulf leaders, he had instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Daniel Caine and the U.S. military not to carry out the scheduled attack. He warned, however, that the order could be reversed quickly if talks fail.
In an apparent response, the Iranian military warned that it will not hesitate to “open new fronts” against the U.S. and Israel if war resumes.
The Islamic Republic has responded to previous similar seizures by attacking U.S. warships. However, it will likely limit its response this time to tightening restrictions on navigation through the strategic Strait of Hormuze, which remains very much under its control.
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well, this might sway the public that reparations which got a bad name post ww1, may not be unfair or naturally ruled out.
this was one of the iranian demands i thought they should be flexible to drop.
compromise might be to divert usaid to the instigator israel, of this hobbibly bad war (which is not only anti iranian but anti american).
so the $4b/year should stay the same, just be rerouted to iran
americunts are thieves–an ugly inferior species