Tehran seizes oil tanker, raising tensions in Gulf

BEIRUT — Iran seized a foreign oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, state television reported Sunday, the third time Tehran has detained a tanker in the last month as the United States applies its campaign of “maximum pressure,” sanctions and diplomatic isolation against the country.

The tanker was detained by the country’s Revolutionary Guard on Wednesday, along with the seven members of the ship’s foreign crew, according to official Iranian news agencies, which cited a naval commander. Iran said the tanker was “smuggling” fuel to some Arab states, without offering evidence.

The oil tanker was an Iraqi ship, the official IRNA news agency reported, quoting Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

The Trump administration has tried to force Iran into submission by choking off its oil sales, the cornerstone of the country’s economy. Iran has responded by lashing out at the West through provocations small and large — including the recent tanker seizures — raising fears that any miscalculation and titfortat responses would escalate into war.

The Trump administration’s stated goal is to extract a nuclear deal from Iran that is more favorable to U.S. interests than the 2015 agreement that President Trump abandoned last year. Critics, however, say the administration has only undermined any path to diplomacy by making demands that Iran cannot accept.

The Iranians, in turn, have taken steps to renege on their commitments under the 2015 deal and have threatened to violate the agreement further unless European countries that cosigned the deal offer some relief from the sanctions. The Europeans have made clear that they hope to preserve the deal, but they have not been able to give a meaningful boost to Iran’s economy, which is reeling under the weight of the sanctions.

That has led to a split between Europe and the United States despite their common interest in making sure crucial oil shipping routes in the Persian Gulf are protected against threats. The Trump administration has sought to rally a maritime force to escort ships through the Gulf, but European nations have distanced themselves from the effort, and Germany has outright said no.

The latest seizure was reported days after the United States imposed sanctions on the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, an Americaneducated diplomat who was a key negotiator for the 2015 nuclear deal between Western powers and Tehran. U.S. officials have said that the foreign minister is part of a “propaganda arm” for Iran. But experts said the sanctions would make it more difficult to engage in any new diplomacy.