Navy stops Iran from seizing 2 commercial ships

The U.S. Navy prevented Iranian forces from seizing two commercial tanker ships in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday morning, the service announced in a news release.

During the first seizure attempt, Iranian forces approached a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel but left the scene once a U.S. destroyer arrived and deployed aircraft to patrol the area, the Navy said.

The Navy received a distress call hours later from a Bahamian-flagged tanker off the coast of Oman. Several shots were fired from an Iranian vessel — including from crewed members onboard — at the tanker before U.S. forces arrived and halted the seizure attempt, the Navy said.

Iran has tried to seize vessels in the Gulf of Oman and has targeted 20 internationally flagged merchant vessels since 2021, according to the Navy.