(TargetLiberty.org) – The U.S. Navy reported that on Wednesday Iranian naval forces had tried to seize two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman before an American battleship interfered and caused them to turn away.
The U.S. revealed that around 1 a.m. local time, the Iranian naval forces had tried to take over a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker that was on international waters. However, USS McFaul, an American battleship, was quick to deter the attack and force the Iranian naval vessel to turn away.
Around three hours later, a different oil tanker, Richmond Voyager, also put out a distress call as it was moving towards international waters near Muscat, Oman, and into the Arabian Sea. According to the reports an Iranian vessel was within 1 mile of the Bahamian-flagged Richmond Voyager and was calling for the tanker to stop while also firing at the ship.
Once again the USS McFaul was able to stop the attack by the Iranian battleship. There were no injuries following the two attacks, but it was reported that bullets had pierced the hull of the boat near the area of the living quarters.
The U.S. Navy also released a video in which the Richmond Voyager can be seen trying to move away from the Iranian vessel which is firing at it. Iranian officials have not issued any statements regarding the two incidents.
This is not the first time that the Iranian naval forces have made such attempts. Previously they managed to seize oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, including one ship that was headed toward Texas. The Strait of Hormuz is an important supply route in the oil trade but is close to the Iranian border.
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