A view of Iranian-flagged cargo ship M/V Touska as the U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided missile destroyer USS Spruance conducts its interception in a location given as the north Arabian Sea, in this screen capture from a video released April 19, 2026. (Credit: CENTCOM/Reuters)
Iran seized the oil tanker Ocean Koi in the Gulf of Oman over an alleged attempt to disrupt Iran's oil exports, Iranian state media said on Friday, quoting an army statement.
It said the Barbados-flagged tanker was carrying Iranian oil and "was trying to harm and disrupt oil exports .... by exploiting regional conditions."
The oil tanker, which has been under U.S. sanctions since February, was escorted to the southern coast of Iran and handed over to the judicial authorities, according to state media.
The seizure came after U.S. and Iranian forces clashed in the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman.
Iran has largely closed the narrow waterway, a conduit for about a fifth of the world's oil flows, since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran broke out on Feb. 28.
Iran seized the oil tanker Ocean Koi in the Gulf of Oman over an alleged attempt to disrupt Iran's oil exports, Iranian state media said on Friday, quoting an army statement.
It said the Barbados-flagged tanker was carrying Iranian oil and "was trying to harm and disrupt oil exports .... by exploiting regional conditions."
The oil tanker, which has been under U.S. sanctions since February, was escorted to the southern coast of Iran and handed over to the judicial authorities, according to state media.
The seizure came after U.S. and Iranian forces clashed in the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman.
Iran has largely closed the narrow waterway, a conduit for about a fifth of the world's oil flows, since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran broke out on Feb. 28.
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