Iran recognizes detention of the missing oil tanker

An oil tanker seen near the seaport of Assaluyeh in the Persian Gulf, credit to Reuters.
An oil tanker seen near the seaport of Assaluyeh in the Persian Gulf, credit to Reuters.

Hours after the Pentagon accused Tehran of detaining it, Iran recognizes that it withholds an oil tanker that disappeared in the Strait of Hormuz two days earlier.

Iran recognized on Tuesday evening that it withdrew the oil tanker (MT RIAH) that had disappeared in the Strait of Hormuz two days ago, to a sea port, some hours after the Pentagon said that Tehran had seized the oil tanker, according to Reuters.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Seyyed Abbas Mousavi, told the Iranian Radio and Television that one of the foreign oil tankers was subjected to technical failure in the waters of the Arabian Gulf.

Mousavi claimed that the Iranian naval forces received a request for assistance from the oil tanker, and according to the international laws, the naval forces, after receiving the request for assistance, headed towards the oil tanker, which was pulled into the Iranian waters to repair the failures.

A graphic demonstrates the MT Riah's route and its last known positions, credit to RT.

The UAE earlier denied that the oil tanker lost in the Strait of Hormuz was owned by the UAE.

According to the UAE news agency (WAM), an official source said that the (MT RIAH) oil tanker is not owned by the UAE, has not been operated by the UAE, does not carry any UAE crew, and had sent no distress signal. The source continued saying: "We are currently closely monitoring the situation with our international partners".

For its part, the Pentagon said today that it believed that Iran has detained the oil tanker that disappeared while crossing the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Associated Press Agency.

The Pentagon added that the loss of contact with an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz for two days raised concerns and worries over its situation amid strained relations between the United States and Iran.

The missing tanker (MT RIAH) flies under the Panamanian flag and contact with it was lost two days ago as it was crossing through the Strait of Hormuz.

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