The Pentagon has denied Iran’s version of events regarding a scuffle in the Sea of Oman.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed its forces had thwarted an attempt by the United States to detain the tanker and seize its oil, while Pentagon spokesman John Kirby called the allegations “absolutely, totally false and untrue” during Wednesday’s briefing.
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The Department of Defense spokesman said it was Iran’s forces who illegally seized and boarded a merchant ship late last month, noting U.S. forces monitored the event but “at no time attempted to retake” the tanker or get involved in the unfolding incident.
“Iran’s actions … constitute a blatant violation of international law. It undermines the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce. The only seizing that was done was by Iran,” Kirby added. He also said that after the U.S. allegedly witnessed Iranian forces illegally boarding the vessel, the U.S. 5th Fleet, which operates Naval ships in the Middle East, directed “two ships and aerial assets to closely monitor the situation.”
However, the IRGC claimed that U.S. military warships and helicopters “chased the tanker” and boarded the vessel, unloading oil onto another ship. That’s when the IRGC Navy carried out a “heliborne operation on the stolen ships deck,” according to CNN.
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“I would add that Iran’s actions, the ones that are true, of them illegally boarding and seizing a vessel, constitute a blatant violation of international law that undermines freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce,” Kirby said.
The recent spat between the U.S. and Iran comes as the two sides appear ready to meet to resume nuclear talks later this month in Austria, per CNN. The U.S. hopes to restart the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which collapsed after former President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement in 2018.
