The vessel that had military backing from the United States was seized by the IRGC naval forces last week, the commander of the IRGC’s second naval zone announced on Monday.
General Ramazan Zirrahi said that the US Navy tried to interfere through a series of “unprofessional and risky actions” as IRGC naval forces moved to intercept the oil tanker that was involved in smuggling Iranian oil and gas in the Persian Gulf.
“On July 15, the forces of the IRGC’s second naval zone were inspecting a vessel with the commercial name of NAD2 that was involved in the organized smuggling of the Islamic Republic’s oil and gas in the Persian Gulf, when the Americans started a series of unprofessional and risky actions in order to prevent this legal measure,” Zirrahi said.
“The Americans embarked on scrambling two A-10 surface combat aircraft, a P-8A manned reconnaissance aircraft, two Hawk C helicopters, an MQ9 unmanned aircraft and dispatching US patrol vessels to the site,” he added.
Stressing that the Americans tried until the very last moment to prevent the seizure of the intruding vessel, the IRGC commandr said, “With vigilance, precision, professional behavior, and the power of the IRGC Navy, the illegal and unprofessional actions of the Americans in the Persian Gulf were confronted and resulted in their failure and humiliation.”
SKH/PressTV