Two U.S. warships carrying over 3,000 military personnel arrived in the Red Sea on Sunday to counter a spate of tanker seizures recently executed by Iran.
According to the U.S. military, Iran has either seized or tried to seize almost 20 non-Iranian ships in the region, reported AFP.
As The Dallas Express reported in April, Iran took control of a Texas-bound oil tanker carrying oil for Chevron. Iran claimed the tanker rammed an Iranian vessel, causing two of its crew members to go missing.
Prior to that incident, Israel and the United States accused Iran of using a drone to strike an Israeli-owned oil tanker off the coast of Oman, Al Jazeera reported.
In early July, U.S. officials said American forces had prevented two attempts by Iran to seize oil tankers off of the coast of Oman. Iran claimed that one of the tankers, NADA 2, was being inspected by Iranian authorities for smuggling.
“On July 6, IRGC Navy personnel were inspecting a ship named NADA 2 that was involved in smuggling Iranian oil and gas in the Persian Gulf, which the Americans sought to prevent through a series of risky and unprofessional actions,” said Iranian Rear Admiral Ramazan Zirrahi, reported RT.
The U.S. naval contingent consists of sailors and marines aboard the USS Bataan, an amphibious assault ship, and USS Carter Hall, a landing ship. The deployment is intended to provide “greater flexibility and maritime capability” to the Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet.
Fifth Fleet spokesperson Commander Tim Hawkins told AFP that the reinforcements were deployed “to deter destabilising activity and de-escalate regional tensions caused by Iran’s harassment and seizures of merchant vessels.”
However, Iran has a different take on the reinforced U.S. presence in the region.
“The US government’s military presence in the region has never created security. Their interests in this region have always compelled them to fuel instability and insecurity,” claimed Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani, per AFP. “We are deeply convinced that the countries of the Persian Gulf are capable of ensuring their own security.”
The military escalations between the two nations come as Iran and Saudi Arabia have restored diplomatic relations through talks brokered by China, which seeks to become more involved in the region, as The Dallas Express previously reported
