IRAN’s “reckless and aggressive behaviour” has been condemned by a Bahrain-based multinational maritime force.
Iranian forces briefly boarded a Liberian-flagged oil tanker in the international waters of the Gulf of Oman near Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday.
The oil tanker, MV Wila was eventually released by Iranian forces and reports indicated its last position appeared to be near the UAE’s port of Khor Fakkan.
“A video captured the moment an Iranian Sea King helicopter hovered above MV Wila and armed Iranian personnel fast-roped aboard the ship,” said a statement by the Bahrain-based International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC).
“Initial reports indicate two Iranian ships in the vicinity of the incident.”
Eight nations including Bahrain joined IMSC since it launched operations in November last year following a number of attacks on the shipping industry and the seizure of a British-flagged vessel in the Strait of Hormuz by Iran. The IMSC launched operations from its Bahrain headquarters at the US Navy Base in Juffair.
The mission to patrol shipping lanes, dubbed Coalition Task Force (CTF) Operation Sentinel, is to protect the international merchant community following a string of vessel attacks that have been blamed on Iran.
CTF Sentinel said yesterday it monitored the incident involving Iranian forces.
“Iran’s use of its military forces to conduct an armed boarding of a commercial vessel in international waters constitutes a blatant violation of international law that undermines freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce,” IMSC said in a statement to the GDN last night.
“We call on Iran to articulate to the international community the legal basis for its actions.
“This type of reckless, aggressive behaviour by Iran destabilises the region and threatens the rules-based international order.”
Furthermore, the multinational maritime force stated there were no calls for help issued by MV Wila.
“CTF Sentinel’s mission is to deter and expose malign activity and reassure the maritime community in the region,” it added.
Iran’s latest maritime violation comes two weeks after its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard fired a missile from a helicopter targeting a replica aircraft carrier in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Footage released by Iran last month showed its commandos fast-roped down from a helicopter onto the replica from the exercise called “Great Prophet 14.
Annually 42,000 vessels use the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway linking the Arabian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
Almost a fifth of the global oil supplies pass through this channel located between Iran and Oman, with Tehran often threatening to close the strait.
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