US Intercepts Sanctioned Tanker in Arabian Sea
U.S. Central Command said it intercepted a merchant vessel trying to get through the blockade of Iran on Saturday.
The ship, identified as the Sevan, was part of a 19-vessel "shadow fleet" transporting Iranian oil and gas products to foreign markets, the U.S. military said.
Central Command said it was intercepted in the Arabian Sea by a U.S. Navy helicopter from the guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney and was "currently complying with U.S. military direction to turn back to Iran under escort."
The “shadow fleet” vessels have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for activities related to transporting billions of dollars' worth of Iranian energy, oil and gas products, including propane and butane, to foreign markets, Central Command said.
Since the blockade began, 37 ships have been "redirected," the U.S. military said.
STARMER AND TRUMP TALK
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed the urgent need to get shipping moving again in the Strait of Hormuz during a call on Sunday, a Downing Street spokesperson said.
"The leaders discussed the urgent need to get shipping moving again in the Strait of Hormuz, given the severe consequences for the global economy and cost of living for people in the UK and globally," the spokesperson for Starmer's office said in a statement.
"The prime minister shared the latest progress on his joint initiative with President (Emmanuel) Macron to restore freedom of navigation," the spokesperson added.
ENERGY SHORTAGE WARNING
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated on Saturday that he was focused on efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a day after the head of TotalEnergies warned of global energy shortages if the Iran war continues for months.
Macron, speaking at a news conference in Athens alongside Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said panic caused by geopolitical uncertainty can in itself lead to shortages.
"Our goal is to achieve a full reopening in the coming days and weeks, in accordance with international law, guaranteeing freedom of navigation without tolls on the Strait of Hormuz. Then things can gradually return to normal," Macron said.
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne pressed on Friday for the reopening of the strait, through which about a fifth of the globe's oil and gas supply normally flows.
Movement through the strait, which is also a key transport route for goods including fertilisers and pharmaceuticals, has been choked due to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, as Iran has seized container ships and the United States has mounted a blockade on Iranian ports.
"If it lasts two, three months more, we are entering in a world of scarcity of energy, which Asian countries have already suffered," Pouyanne told the World Policy Conference in Chantilly, outside Paris. "You cannot have 20% of the oil and gas of the planet being stranded and not accessible without major consequences."
More than a dozen countries have said they are willing to join an international mission led by France and Britain to protect shipping in the strait when conditions permit, even as U.S. President Donald Trump has said he does not need allies' help.
"We're all in the same boat, and it's not a boat we chose, if I may say. We're victims of geopolitics and we're victims of this war that started several months ago," Macron said on Saturday.
(Reuters)
