The incident comes amid rising tensions between Tehran and Western countries, which this week tightened their sanctions against the Revolutionary Guard, the Islamic Republic’s ideological army, for human rights abuses.

“The tanker Advantage Sweet was seized by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy while transiting international waters in the Gulf of Oman,” the Oman-based US 5th Fleet said in a statement.

For its part, Iranian state television confirmed the seizure of an “infringing ship”, but assured that the operation was carried out by the Islamic Republic’s navy, and not by the Revolutionary Guard.

According to MarineTraffic.com, the ship was off the coast of Oman after leaving Kuwait for Houston in the United States.

The incident occurred in the early afternoon and the ship issued a distress signal, according to the US Navy.

“The Iranian government must immediately release” the ship, he added, condemning the acts “contrary to international law and threatening regional security and stability.”

The United States regularly criticizes Tehran’s actions in this highly strategic maritime zone, an almost exclusive shipping lane for connecting Gulf oil countries with world markets.

In the past two years, Iran has “illegally” seized at least five commercial vessels in the Middle East, according to the statement.

In 2019, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized a British-flagged oil tanker, releasing it two months later. And in 2022, an Iranian navy flotilla briefly captured two unmanned US military vessels in the Red Sea.

– New sanctions –

The tensions between Iran and the United States are aggravated after the former American President Donald Trump withdrew from the international accord visant à geler le program nucléaire Iranian et reimposed des sanctions qui ont strongly affected the economy From the country.

On Monday, the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States announced in a coordinated manner the reinforcement of sanctions against the Revolutionary Guard, in response to their human rights violations.

This is the seventh round of sanctions against Iran out of 27 since the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, who died after being arrested by police for violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code.

In retaliation, Iran announced its own punitive measures against individuals and entities from the EU and the UK, while denouncing the “worsening of cruel sanctions” against the country.

Created in 1979 after the victory of the revolution against the power of the Shah, the Guardians (“Sepah-é Pasdaran” in Persian) have land, naval and air forces with an estimated strength of more than 120,000 men.

The Guardians oversee the Bassij (Islamist volunteer corps), which has been deployed in the face of protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini.