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Iran assisting 'ailing tanker' off Hormuz


Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the Islamic republic was assisting a "foreign tanker that had encountered a technical problem" in the Persian Gulf after receiving a distress call.
 
"According to international regulations,... Iranian forces approached it and using a tugboat brought it into Iranian waters for necessary repairs," ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said, according to an official government Twitter account.
 
He added that further details would be released later.
 
Earlier TankerTrackers reported that the Panamanian-flagged tanker Riah, used in the strategic Strait of Hormuz "for fueling other vessels" had crossed into Iranian waters on Sunday "for the first time as she slowed down".
 
According to the online oil shipment tracking service, at that point, the tanker's automatic identification system stopped sending signals.
 
The 58-meter Riah's last known position was off Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
 
It led the United States to suspect Iran had seized the vessel.
 
A US defense official later said the Riah was in Iranian territorial waters near Qeshm Island, which has an Iranian Revolutionary Guard base on it. "We certainly have suspicions that it was taken," the official said. "Could it have broken down or been towed for assistance? That's a possibility. But the longer there is a period of no contact ... it's going to be a concern."
 
The official spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter did not directly involve US interests.
 
Tensions in the region have soared in recent weeks, with the US calling off airstrikes against Iran at the last minute after Teheran downed a US drone, and Washington blaming Teheran for a series of attacks on tanker ships off the United Arab Emirates coast.
 
On Tuesday, a UAE official said the tanker Riah did not send out a distress call. "The tanker in question is neither UAE owned nor operated, does not carry Emirati personnel, and did not emit a distress call," the official said.
 
"We are monitoring the situation with our international partners."
 
On May 12, the UAE said four ships - including two Saudi oil tankers, a Norwegian vessel and an Emirati one - had been targeted by "acts of sabotage" in Gulf waters off its coast.
 
Gulf powerhouse Saudi Arabia said later its two tankers suffered "significant damage" but no casualties or oil spill.
 
Washington and Riyadh blamed Teheran, which denied any involvement.
 
Recent escalation
 
Meanwhile, a UAE investigation found that a "state actor" was likely responsible for the attacks, probably carried out by limpet mines, but did not specifically blame Iran.
 
A month after the mysterious attacks, two fuel-loaded tankers, one Norwegian and another Japanese-owned, passing through the Strait of Hormuz toward the Indian Ocean were hit by blasts that caused major fires.
 
Washington and Riyadh again blamed Teheran for the attacks.
 
Tensions further intensified on July 4 when British Royal Marines helped the Gibraltar authorities detain an Iranian tanker that US officials believe was trying to deliver oil to Syria in violation of separate sets of EU and US sanctionsa claim also denied by Iran.
 
Separately on Tuesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country will retaliate over the seizure of an Iranian supertanker carrying 2.1 million barrels of light crude oil. The vessel was seized with the help of British Royal Marines earlier this month off Gibraltar over suspicion it was heading to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions, an operation Khamenei called "piracy" in a televised speech.
 
"God willing, the Islamic republic and its committed forces will not leave this evil without a response," he said. He did not elaborate.
 
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Saturday that Britain will facilitate the release of the ship if Iran can guarantee the vessel will not breach European sanctions on oil shipments to Syria.
 
Source:chinadaily

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