‘Destabilizing force in the region’: Iran boards ship in Persian Gulf

U.S. Central Command has released video of an Iranian Sea King helicopter boarding a vessel in the Persian Gulf, part of what the Pentagon says is continued “disruptive behavior.”

“Iran has been a destabilizing force in the region,” Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said Thursday in a press briefing, citing a range of malign activities in the region.

Hoffman listed activities including targeting Saudi oil fields, disrupting commercial shipping by the use of mines, cyberattacks and ballistic missile attacks on Iraq.

“It’s not a surprise to anyone that Iran has continued with this behavior,” he said without providing additional details about the incident first reported by U.S. Central Command and the Navy’s International Maritime Security Construct.

“Iran’s use of its military forces to conduct an armed boarding of a commercial vessel in international waters constitutes a blatant violation of international law that undermines freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce,” the IMSC said in a statement Thursday.

“We call on Iran to articulate to the international community the legal basis for its actions,” the statement added.

In the grainy, black and white video posted to Twitter, the helicopter is seen approaching a vessel called the Wila allegedly in international waters. Personnel are then fast-roping from the helicopter in order to board the vessel.

No further explanation is given for why Iran might be boarding the vessel. The video was taken by a coalition ship operating in the immediate vicinity as part of the Coalition Task Force Sentinel to protect the international flow of commerce.

The IMSC statement said there were no calls of help from the Wila.

Reuters reported that the Wila was eventually released by Iranian forces and that the U.S. military was not involved in the incident.

U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to a request by the Washington Examiner for further information.