Iran Seizes Gulf Oil Tanker in Latest Escalations in the Middle East
Jose Nino
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On January 11, 2024, Iranian naval forces seized an oil tanker close to the coast of Oman, opening up a new avenue of conflict that is raising questions of economic stability worldwide.
“Seizing tankers is a go-to Iranian move to demonstrate their capabilities and to create problems,” observed Tobias Borck at the Royal United Services Institute think-tank in London.
Borck continued by noting that the Houthi campaign was part of a larger threat that could transform into a broader regional war.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held a conference call on the evening of January 11 with his cabinet to talk about the crisis in the Red Sea and possible British involvement in a US-led military operation, according to sources who received briefings on this situation.
British authorities stated that the oil tanker — the St Nikolas — was boarded on the morning of January 11 by 4 to 5 armed individuals donning “military-style black uniforms”.
According to satellite tracking information, the vessel was diverted towards Iran prior to losing contact with the vessel.
Iranian state-backed media later published a photo of armed forces dropping from a helicopter onto a tanker’s deck.
The Tasnim News Agency, a media outlet connected to the Revolutionary Guards, announced that Iran’s naval forces had acted on court orders as a response to “oil theft by the US regime”.
The January 11 vessel seizure occurred south of the Strait of Hormuz, the most important oil transit chokepoints on the planet..
Iranian forces have a track record of seized tankers during periods of heightened geopolitical tension with the US and its satrapies in NATO. This event, along with Yemeni Houthis attacks on US and Israeli-aligned vessels in the Red Sea, which have largely acted in response to Israel’s punitive military campaign in Gaza.
The seizure of the tanker had the aim of making the US and its allies become gun shy about taking any retaliatory military action against the Houthis.
The fact is that the Middle East is growing more unstable thanks to the US’s constant meddling in the region. The US’s entangling alliance with Israel is also generating massive blowback among disgruntled actors in the Middle East.
If the US and its NATO satrapies were smart and interested in peace, they would pull out of the Middle East. Too bad the West is dominated by interventionist fanatics who are more concerned with remaking the world in the West’s dysfunctional image. So no meaningful change will ever occur.
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