Iran Seizes Oil Tanker In Retaliation For Earlier US Confiscation
Iran’s state media on Friday reported the seizure of an oil tanker by the Iranian Navy in the Sea of Oman, amid high tensions and Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
Iran’s state media on Friday reported the seizure of an oil tanker by the Iranian Navy in the Sea of Oman, amid high tensions and Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
According to their claims, the oiler had previously been seized alongside a large cargo of Iranian crude oil by the US government in 2023 and Friday’s seizure by Iran was a retaliatory act.
According to the official statement of the Iranian Navy, the seizure was carried out following a court order and the approval of the Ports and Shipping Organization in retaliation for “oil theft” by the United States. State media reports also said the oil tanker was being transferred to Iranian ports to be handed over to the judicial authorities.
In the early morning of January 11, the crew of an oil tanker named M/T ST Nikolas, flying the Marshall Islands flag and managed by Greek personnel, issued a distress signal in an area 50 nautical miles east of Sohar, Oman. They reported that four to five unauthorized individuals, armed and wearing black uniforms and masks, had boarded their vessel at around 03:30 UTC.
The Greek company, Empire Navigation, which owns the vessel, subsequently confirmed that it was carrying a cargo of 145,000 metric tons of oil and had a crew of 19 individuals (comprising 18 Filipino nationals and one Greek). The vessel was en route from Basra, Iraq, to Aliaga, Turkey.
Saint Nikolas, the oil tanker that was seized by the Iranian Navy today, has a checkered history that played a pivotal role in its capture. This vessel was previously seized by the US in April 2023 when it was transporting 977,000 barrels of Iranian crude oil that was subject to sanctions. At that time, the ship was known as Suez Rajan and was under the ownership of the same company that currently owns it. To secure its release, the owner paid a fine of $2.46 million USD after several months of legal proceedings.
Subsequently, following a US federal court order, the sanctioned Iranian crude oil that had been offloaded from the vessel was sold for a total of $83.4 million USD, following extensive efforts by the US Government to locate a buyer. These efforts incurred additional costs of over $8.85 million USD, resulting in approximately $74.7 million in net proceeds from the oil sale.
Upon its release and return to Greece, the vessel was renamed Saint Nikolas and resumed its operations, primarily carrying petrochemical products worldwide. However, it chose to avoid engaging in any services related to Iran.
To avoid sale of the oil shipment of the Suez Rajan by the US Government, the Iranian regime did its best by means of using the IRGC Navy to seize various commercial ships in Omas Sea, however the pressures didn't work, and Iran's crude oil was finally sold by the US in 2023.
Friday's seizure of the Suez Rajan seems to be the latest attempt of the Iranian regime to compensate for the loss of over $90 million USD of crude oil of the same ship that was sold by the US in 2023. Iran’s state media claim that the oiler was carrying crude purchased by the US; however, vessel tracking websites show its destination was a port in Turkey. It is not known whether that port call for Turkey was a diversion to hide the real destination of the oil tanker.
Tehran Prosecutor Ali Salehi said Monday that these individuals, including seven well-known public figures have been indicted. “Those who attempt to endanger the society’s psychological security by spreading false and offensive content [on social media] will be dealt with decisively, quickly and according to the law,” he said.
HRANA, the website of the US-based Human Rights Activists, reported Tuesday that at least 76 social media users have been arrested across Iran since the bombing in Kerman, and 108 others have been summoned by security and judicial organizations. HRANA said nearly 500 social media accounts have been suspended and two businesses were shut down in this relation.
Nearly one hundred were killed and dozens of others were injured on January 3 in the twin bombings on the road leading to Golzar-e Shohada (Martyrs Garden) cemetery of Kerman where Soleimani is buried.
The ISIS of Afghanistan (The Islamic State – Khorasan Province or ISIS--K) has taken responsibility for what it claimed were suicide bombings, but some Iranian social media users continue to accuse Iran's own security and intelligence agencies of being behind the attacks to buy sympathy for the regime. The media and some political figures criticized the regime for concentrating their efforts on suppression of dissent instead of preventing terror.
One of the seven "well-known figures" indicted for their comments on the Kerman bombing is the prominent political commentator Sadegh Zibakalam. He has been indicted by the Tehran Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor for his remarks. During an interview with the Voice of America's Persian television, Zibakalam stated that Israel, which authorities continue to accuse of involvement in the bombing, should not be held responsible because it targets specific individuals in its operations and "does not attack innocent people."
Like other branches of the Islamic State in the Middle East, the Daesh of Khorasan has conducted many terrorist attacks including suicide bombings in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Kerman bombing is the first attack in Iran that the Daesh of Khorasan has taken responsibility for.
Some social media users also said they were happy that that regime supporters who were participating in Soleimani’s death anniversary ceremony were killed in the attack.
Relatively independent media in Tehran have also demanded the resignation of the interior minister Ahmad Vahidi. “What other disaster should happen now for a government official to resign from his post?” an editorial in Jahan-e Sanat newspaper Tuesday asked. “What else should happen for a government official to apologize to the nation?”
In response to government criticism over its failure to provide security at Soleimani's death anniversary ceremony, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei defended the performance of security agencies on Tuesday. He stated that the rate of neutralizing threats is tens of times higher than those threats that materialize.
“We are not adamant in accusing this or that [country or group] but insist on identifying the real culprits who are behind the scenes and on crushing them,” he told a group of visitors from Qom in a speech in which he alleged that Iran's enemies have been trying to harm the Islamic Republic by instilling disillusionment in people and discouraging them from supporting the regime.
“Making fun of the Shiite Arbaeen procession”, “insinuating doubt” about Iranians’ respect for Soleimani, questioning the “magnificence of people’s participation” in religious celebrations such as the birthday of the twelfth Imam, Mahdi, “are examples of the enemy's strategic policy” of enticing the Iranian people to cease support for the Islamic Republic, he said.