LONDON: Iranian special forces commandos raided a tanker in the Arabian Sea but failed to divert it to their country after the crew disabled the vessel’s engines, a source with access to intelligence about the incident told The Times.
Iranian Navy operators boarded the Panama-flagged Asphalt Princess near the Strait of Hormuz, before fleeing after the ship was rendered inoperable and US, Omani forces approached, the source said.
The operation off the UAE coast on Tuesday took place five days after the Iberian-flagged Mercer Street tanker, operated by an Israeli-linked UK-based company, was attacked by a drone in Omani waters.
The explosion killed a British Army veteran and a Romanian, both of whom were working on the ship.
The UN Security Council “must respond to Iran’s destabilising actions and lack of respect for international law,” tweeted UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.
The Times’ source said intelligence indicated that “armed Iranians stormed the (Asphalt Princess) vessel and tried to take it back to Iran but the crew scuppered the engines, so that is why it was shown bobbing in the water. Then US and Omani warships turned up and the Iranians got into some boats and went off.”
