U.S. Interception of Tanker Draws Protest
U.S. Navy sailors in the Persian Gulf enforcing an oil embargo on Iraq forcibly boarded an oil tanker that American officials said refused to let investigators on board. The U.S. action drew protest from Iran.
The boarding team determined that the Belize-flagged tanker was not violating the oil embargo and allowed the vessel to proceed, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. David Lapan said in Washington.
Iranian officials said the ship was operated by an Iranian company and was headed to a refinery in Abadan, near the country’s border with Iraq, when it was intercepted, state media reported.
The U.S. said the tanker was Saudi-owned. The conflicting reports could not be independently resolved.
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