Iranian forces have reportedly seized an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz in the first such attack on shipping in months.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Iran seized an oil tanker flying the flag of the Marshall Islands as it passed through the strait Strait of Hormuz A US official and a private maritime risk group said on Friday that the ship had entered Iranian territorial waters in the South China Sea The first such ban in months In the strategic waterway.

Iran Iran did not immediately acknowledge the seizure, although it comes as Tehran increasingly warns it could retaliate after facing a 12-day war in June with Israel that saw… The United States struck Iranian nuclear sites.

The US defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said the ship, Talara, was traveling from Ajman, United Arab Emirates, to Singapore when it was intercepted by Iranian forces.

Reuters news agency quoted British private maritime risk management group Vanguard and other maritime security sources as saying that Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces intercepted the ship Talara and directed it towards Iranian waters.

Flight tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed that a U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton drone was flying over the area where Talara was for hours on Friday to monitor the seizure.

Another private security company, Ambri, told the AP that the attack involved three small boats approaching Talara.

The British Army’s UK Maritime Trade Operations Center separately acknowledged the incident, saying possible “state activity” had forced Talara to divert into Iranian territorial waters.

Cyprus-based Columbia Ship Management later said in a statement that it had “lost contact” with the tanker, which was carrying high-sulfur gas oil.

“It has notified the relevant authorities and is working closely with all parties involved – including maritime security agencies and the ship owner – to restore contact with the vessel,” the company said. “Crew safety remains our top priority.”

The US Navy has blamed Iran for a series of limpet mine attacks on ships that destroyed tankers in 2019, as well as for a deadly drone attack on an Israel-linked oil tanker that killed two European crew members in 2021.

These attacks began after President Trump, during his first term, unilaterally… The United States withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement Between Iran and a number of world powers. The last major detention came when Iran seized two Greek tankers in May 2022 and held them until November of that year.

Those attacks have been largely absorbed by Iranian-backed forces Houthi attacks target ships during This led to a significant decline in shipping in the vital Red Sea corridor.

Years of tension between Iran and the West, combined with the situation in the Gaza Strip, exploded into a full-scale 12-day war in June.

Iran has long threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all oil trade passes. The US Navy patrolled the Middle East through its Fifth Fleet stationed in Bahrain to keep the waterways open.