Iran accuses US of trying to confiscate tanker

Iran accused the United States of attempting to confiscate an Iranian tanker. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps said soldiers foiled a US Navy attempt in the Gulf of Oman. The incident allegedly took place south of the port city of Chabahar; Iran does not say when.

Anonymous U.S. government officials object to Iran’s reading to Reuters news agency. They say that in reality Iran confiscated an oil tanker. Officials say Iran seized a Vietnam-flagged vessel last month and the US Navy was in the area only to monitor the situation.

atomic agreement

Iranian elite forces have seized tankers more frequently in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz in recent years. Previously, Iranian expert Peyman Jafari (UvA) told NOS that the seizures were mainly power demonstration and that the regime wants to increase the pressure on the international community to lift the sanctions against the country and conclude a new nuclear deal.

In this 2015 agreement Iran, the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany have agreed to curb Iran’s nuclear program. This was to prevent the country from manufacturing nuclear weapons. In return, economic sanctions against Iran were lifted.

In 2018, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the agreement. According to then-President Trump, the country had continued to develop nuclear weapons despite the deal. The United States then increased sanctions against the country. At the time, Europe announced that it wanted to keep the deal alive, but this is under great pressure.

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would monitor compliance with the agreement, but the UN nuclear watchdog recently said it was becoming increasingly difficult to assess the Iran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.

No inspectors

Since February, the country no longer admits IAEA inspectors. However, the IAEA is authorized to operate on most nuclear complexes watch with surveillance cameras. The country has also significantly increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium since May.

Negotiations for a new agreement will continue on November 29 in Vienna, according to Ali Bagheri Kani, one of the main negotiators in Iran. US President Biden has said he wants to revive the 2015 deal.