Iran has reportedly seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman and is taking it to an Iranian port in response to the United States’ confiscation of the same vessel and its oil last year. The seizure follows an order from an Iranian court. Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations released a statement that the seizure was a “lawful undertaking sanctioned by a court order.” A maritime monitoring website identified the seized vessel as a Marshall Islands-flagged crude oil tanker named St Nikolas, formerly known as the Suez Rajan.
