Iran calls US ship seizure ‘piracy’: Is it?

Iran responded to the US capture of one of its tankers close to the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week by capturing two foreign commercial vessels on Wednesday and moving them to its coast. Iran called the US attack on its ship by the US an act of “piracy” and, on Wednesday, said the two tankers it had seized had violated maritime regulations, according to Iranian state media.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said: “This is in line with what we heard from the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] previously, saying that any passage of ships, vessels or oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz should be with the permission and coordination of the IRGC.”
He said the seizure reflected Iran’s continuing strategy to impose control and authority over maritime traffic through the chokepoint, adding that Iranian officials were now discussing charges and transit fees for vessels using the route.

On Monday, the US military fired on and then seized the Iranian-flagged container ship Touska close to the Strait of Hormuz in the northern Arabian Sea as it was en route to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) and President Donald Trump said the Touska had refused to follow US orders to withdraw from its planned passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The seizure came after the US imposed a naval blockade on all Iranian ports on April 13.
Iran called Washington’s capture of the vessel “an act of piracy”.

This is not the first time the Trump administration has been accused of piracy. Last year, Venezuela also made the allegation when the US seized sanctioned oil tankers off its coast.
What happened to the Touska?
The US military enforced its naval blockade on Iranian ports and the Strait of Hormuz in response to Iran’s block on most vessels coming through the narrow waterway. Since the war began, Iran has allowed only a few ships belonging to nations that have struck deals with Tehran to pass.

The US military said it would bar any ships belonging to Iran or travelling to or from Iranian ports from passing through the strait.

On Monday, according to the US military, the Touska tried to defy the US blockade by crossing from the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Oman through the Strait of Hormuz towards Bandar Abbas.

CENTCOM reported: “American forces issued multiple warnings and informed the Iranian-flagged vessel it was in violation of the US blockade.”

“After Touska’s crew failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period, Spruance directed the vessel to evacuate its engine room” before the US destroyer fired at the Iranian ship, the CENTCOM statement said.

Subsequently, US Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit boarded the Touska and captured the ship.