DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker as it traveled through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, a US official says, turning the ship into Iranian territorial waters in the first such interdiction in months in the strategic waterway.
Iran does not immediately acknowledge the seizure, though it comes as Tehran has been increasingly warning it can strike back after facing a 12-day war in June with Israel that saw the US strike Iranian nuclear sites.
The ship, the Talara, had been traveling from Ajman, United Arab Emirates, onward to Singapore when Iranian forces intercepted it, the US defense official, who speaks on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, says. A US Navy MQ-4C Triton drone had been circling above the area where the Talara was for hours observing the seizure, flight-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press shows.
A private security firm, Ambrey, describes the assault as involving three small boats approaching the Talara.
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