Iran claims to have seized ‘offending’ oil tanker in Gulf of Oman

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claims to have captured an oil tanker, Ocean Koi, in a “special operation” in the Gulf of Oman, saying the vessel was attempting to “disrupt oil exports and the interests of the Iranian nation”, according to state media.

In a statement carried by the Fars news agency, a spokesperson from the army said the Iranian Navy’s “rangers and marines directed the offending tanker to the southern coast of the country”.

According to the IRNA news agency, a statement from the army said it would “powerfully defend the interests and assets of the Iranian nation in the territorial waters of our country and will not tolerate any violators or aggressors”.

State TV released a video of Iranian forces boarding and detaining the ship. According to Marine Tracker, the vessel is registered in Barbados.

Al Jazeera’s Resul Serder, reporting from Tehran, said this is not the first time the IRGC has seized ships, referring to three confirmed cases in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway connecting the Gulf with the Gulf of Oman. However, he explained that it marks a shift in Iran.

“Iranians are seeing that the war has changed the strategic environment in the region, and these straits and the Gulf have been used against our national security,” Serder said.

‘New maritime regime’

He said Iran is coming up with a “new maritime regime”, which will see the country place “new rules, new regulations and new protocols”.

The new body will be called the Persian Gulf Strait Authority and will manage passages through the Strait of Hormuz.

“So, according to the new regulations that were just released, any ships attempting or intending to pass through the Strait of Hormuz in and out need to have full coordination and clearance from the Iranian forces,” Serder said.

Ships intending to pass through the waterway – through which a fifth of the world’s oil normally passes – will have to send an email to Iranian authorities detailing their country of origin, what the vessel is carrying, and the final destination. Iran will then assess and ask them to pay toll fees.

“This is a new maritime regime. Iran is not giving up its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.

He said this bold move is symbolic because it shows that “Iranians are putting in control over these strategic chokepoints – without their approval, no ships are allowed in and out.”

‘Political clout’

Alex Alfirraz Scheers, a defence analyst, told Al Jazeera that by capturing the ship, the IRGC is “exerting its ability and it’s authority within the Strait – it’s trying to project power, which it can now do, which it couldn’t do prior”.

He explained that the IRGC is using “control of the Strait” to make the waterway “inhospitable and dangerous”, saying that this is enough to show that it has “strategic clout” and “political clout”.