Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of operating an organised crime network in Gulf waters that targets civilian seafarers.
The allegation is currently being reviewed by the American military, which is investigating whether Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is behind a spate of robberies on the high seas.
Claims that Iran was connected to criminal activity, which former head of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet Vice Admiral John Miller described as “banditry”, were made after Saudi Arabia took control of Combined Task Force 152 (CTF-152) – a multinational force responsible for ensuring the maritime security in the Gulf.
“The Saudis spent a great deal of time helping us understand patterns of life in the Gulf and I think that’s work that the Kuwaitis will continue to do (after taking over command of CTF-152 on September 1),” said Vice Admiral Miller.
“We learnt a lot about what I would, rather than describe as piracy, probably better describe as maritime crime inside the Gulf.
“There is some evidence that we are really just starting to develop that might tie that to the IRGC. There is more work to be done there to better understand it, rather than make an accusation at this point.”
The GDN has previously reported the alleged targeting of Gulf fishermen by what were described as “Iranian pirates”.
However, Saudi Arabia has suggested such incidents may not be isolated attacks, but instead part of an orchestrated criminal operation that could be linked to the IRGC – a branch of the Iranian military that has also been accused of training and funding terrorists in Bahrain and elsewhere in the region.
“It may be something that looks like organised crime and we are looking at that, what can be done to reduce that and what role that navies might play – and particularly the regional navies might play – in reducing that,” said Vice Admiral Miller.
He said the information had come to light in the past year, describing the type of attacks encountered as “robbery at sea”.
“What it looks like is just straight robbery at sea so they go aboard a boat, they steal radios, they steal whatever,” he said.
“If it’s a fishing boat they steal their catch, they steal your watch, that sort of thing.
“(We are considering) what we do to reduce that sort of criminal activity at sea and how do we make the sea safer for the people that are out there working inside the Gulf.
“Who do we attribute it to? What’s the source of that criminal activity?”
When asked whether Iran’s threats in 2012 to block to Strait of Hormuz were still a concern, despite the signing of a nuclear deal with the West that resulted in the lifting of sanctions, Vice Admiral Miller responded: “It’s always important to listen to what the Iranians say and then watch what the Iranians do. Those two things rarely match.”
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