Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Seizes Ship It Says Visited U.S. Ports, Citing Maritime Violations

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy has seized a vessel it said was suspected of cooperating with the U.S. military.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that the Guard on Thursday (local time) seized the EPAMINODES, citing violations of maritime regulations.

The Guard’s navy said it had monitored the ship for the past six months and confirmed it had visited U.S. ports several times. It said the vessel was seized after it ignored repeated warnings and continued to violate maritime rules.

The seizure comes as tensions rise amid Iran’s threat to block the Strait of Hormuz and what the report described as a U.S. maritime blockade of Iran.

The Revolutionary Guard seized three vessels on April 22, saying they tried to transit the Strait of Hormuz without authorization from Iran’s military.

The United States previously seized two ships in the Indo-Pacific that were part of what the report called Iran’s “dark fleet” — vessels such as tankers involved in illegal shipments of crude oil and other cargo to evade international sanctions — after they departed Iranian ports and before the maritime blockade began.