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Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has seized a South Korean oil tanker in the Gulf, according to Iranian media.
Seoul demanded the immediate release of the ship after confirming that it had been captured by Iranian authorities in waters off Oman.
There is tension between the two countries after US sanctions led to the freezing of Iranian funds in South Korean banks.
It seems that Iran has resorted to an old tactic at a time when it feels under pressure.
The South Korean tanker was sailing through the Strait of Hormuz when it was seized by ships of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard for allegedly polluting the waters with chemicals.
Seoul has demanded the immediate release of the ship.
That is doubtful. The most likely motive is revenge for the freezing of $ 7 billion in Iranian government money in South Korean accounts due to US sanctions.
Iran claims he needs money to buy equipment and vaccines to treat COVID-19.
The drugs are exempt from sanctions, and in recent months Iran has tried unsuccessfully to persuade Seoul to hand over the money.
The timing is not a coincidence either: South Korea’s deputy foreign minister is due to visit Tehran in the coming days, and this will strengthen Iran’s hand in the negotiations.
Iranian state television showed images of MT Hankuk Chemi being escorted to the port of Bandar Abbas on Iran’s Gulf coast. South Korea has ordered some naval ships to head to the area in response.
The Stena Impero was seized in July 2019. File Photo: Stena Bulk
Iran has a form here. In 2019, the Revolutionary Guards repeatedly attempted to seize British-flagged tankers in retaliation against the seizure of an Iranian ship off Gibraltar. They finally succeeded, capturing the Stena Impero.
Weeks earlier, a series of explosions aboard oil tankers in the Gulf came at a pressure point on the Iranian nuclear deal, when the Trump administration stepped up sanctions against the regime. Tehran denied any involvement.
We are now in another tense period between Iran and the United States, although not yet as active as those summer months of 2019.
The Sunday that just passed marked a year since the Iranian general Qassam Soleimani died in a US drone strike shortly after landing at Baghdad airport. Iran may still want to celebrate that anniversary in some way.
There is an expectation that Donald Trump will also attempt a firing during his final days in office, to prevent Joe Biden from renegotiating the nuclear deal when he takes office.
It is believed that Donald Trump may try to prevent Joe Biden from renegotiating the Iran nuclear deal.
B-52 bombers have been dispatched to the region and the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier is staying in the Gulf area for a bit longer, reversing an original plan to leave as a sign of decline.
And in a move that could force the hand of the president of the United States, Iran announced the resumption of enrichment of uranium to 20% purity, breaking the 2015 nuclear deal and dramatically accelerating the process towards a nuclear weapon.
The European Union has criticized this as a “serious deviation” from the agreement.
When Tehran did something similar a decade ago, it almost unleashed an attack from Israel.
So we’re in a game of risky politics again: on the one hand, an outgoing president who might think he has little to lose, and on the other, Iran’s hardliners begin to flex their muscles before Biden comes to power.
