VIDEO. Iran sends commandos to seize tanker after ‘theft’ of US cargo

When its cargo was seized by the United States in 2023, it was called the Suez Rajan and was carrying sanctioned Iranian oil. From now on, the ship, renamed “Saint Nicholas”, is in the hands of Iranian commandos.

“The naval forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran seized an American tanker in the waters of the Arabian Sea in accordance with a court order,” the official news agency of the mullahs’ regime reported. The armed action was taken “following the violation committed by the Suez Rajan in May 2023 and the theft of Iranian oil by the United States,” said the Iranian navy that seized the ship.

The ship loaded about 145,000 tons of crude oil in Basra, Iraq, before the team operating the tanker lost contact in the Arabian Sea with the ship and its 19 crew members. According to Iranian authorities, the Saint Nicholas is now heading to “the ports of the Islamic Republic for delivery to judicial authorities.”

The Wrath of the United States

“The Iranian government must immediately release the vessel and its crew,” US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told the press, condemning the “illegal” seizure that “disrupts international trade.” Thursday’s detention of the tanker comes as U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken has just completed a diplomatic tour of the region.

Thursday’s detention of the tanker comes as U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken has just completed a diplomatic tour of the region. Iran is currently holding five boats and more than 90 crew members as hostages from ships seized nearly a year ago, the Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet said.