US Ship Seized by Iran Raises Questions About Legitimacy of Action

US Targets Iranian Ships in International Waters

The United States has been conducting military operations against Iranian ships in international waters since the start of the war on Iran. On Monday, a US destroyer fired at an Iranian-flagged container ship, Touska, which was attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz despite being under a US naval blockade.

According to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), American forces issued multiple warnings to the vessel before it attempted to defy the blockade. The ship’s crew failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period, and subsequently, the vessel was evacuated by US Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Iran has responded to the incident by seizing two foreign commercial vessels on Wednesday and moving them to its coast. Iranian officials have stated that the seized vessels had violated maritime regulations and would be subject to charges and transit fees for using the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement, the Pentagon said US forces conducted a right-of-visit maritime interdiction of another oil tanker sanctioned for transporting Iranian crude oil in the Bay of Bengal. The incident is part of the ongoing naval blockade imposed by the US on all Iranian ports on April 13.

The US has been enforcing its naval blockade since the start of the war, which began when the US and Israel launched air strikes on Tehran on February 28. Since then, the US military has targeted several Iranian ships, including a submarine that sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka in March.

Iran has accused the US of piracy in connection with these incidents, but the US maintains that its actions are lawful under international law. The incident highlights the ongoing tensions between the two countries and the use of naval power to enforce maritime regulations.

Source: Al Jazeera