WASHINGTON
(Sputnik) —US warships have begun accompanying British merchant vessels
in the Strait of Hormuz, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday.
Maersk
Tigris was reportedly seized at the request of Iran's Ports and
Maritime Organization because of financial disputes with the owner
of the vessel.
On April 29, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that
the seizure of the ship was made in compliance with a court order and
refuted any political motives behind the move.
The incident comes amid tensions in the Arabian Sea where an Iranian cargo ship en route to Yemen diverted east after the United States scrambled several warships. Washington claimed that Iran could have been trying to supply weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen, bypassing a UN embargo.
"They've asked if we would accompany their flagged vessels through the strait."
The
US Department of Defense announced that US warships would accompany all
US-flagged commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. It
also did not rule out that assistance could be extended to other
countries as well.
On April 28, several Iranian Navy patrol ships approached Maersk
Tigris, a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo vessel, while in Iranian
territorial waters. The ship was directed to an Iranian port.
The incident comes amid tensions in the Arabian Sea where an Iranian cargo ship en route to Yemen diverted east after the United States scrambled several warships. Washington claimed that Iran could have been trying to supply weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen, bypassing a UN embargo.
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