On Monday, Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Ramazan Zirrahi accused the US Navy of intervening to defend fuel smuggling in the Gulf when Iran intercepted a vessel last week.
In statements broadcasted by the Iranian news agency Tasnim, Zirrahi said members of the Revolutionary Guard Navy were “inspecting a vessel named NADA 2. This vessel was suspected of being involved in the smuggling of Iranian oil and gas in the Persian Gulf. Zirrahi accused the Americans of attempting to thwart this inspection through “unprofessional and risky actions.”
On July 7, Fars News Agency reported that the Revolutionary Guard had seized a ship carrying 900 tons of smuggled fuel with 12 crew members, based on a court order.
Zirrahi added, “The Americans flew several aircraft, including two A-10 fighters, and tried until the last moment to prevent the seizure of the vessel, but it was eventually brought to Bushehr port for legal procedures.”
Last week, Tim Hawkins, the spokesperson for the US Fifth Fleet, said that the US Navy had observed the interception of the vessel in international waters but decided not to take any further action in response.
This incident is one of several incidents involving Iranian forces and maritime operations in the Gulf last week.
In another incident, the US Navy stated that Iranian Navy personnel fired shots at the vessel “Richmond Voyager,” flying the flag of the Bahamas and operated by the major US oil company Chevron, following Tehran’s claim that the ship was involved in a collision incident that injured five crew members of an Iranian vessel.
Chevron denied the tanker’s involvement in the collision incident and stated that it had not been notified of any legal procedures or court orders from Iran regarding the ship.
