A few days ago, US authorities ordered the Suez Rajan tanker carrying Iranian crude oil to be diverted to the US.. Officials say this was the reason for Iran's decision to seize the tanker Advantage Sweet on Thursday..

Three people briefed on the situation said the US intervened to call a ship loaded with Iranian crude that was originally destined for China.. The reason for this was that Washington wants to strengthen the application of sanctions against Tehran.. Iranian navy unsuccessfully tried to pursue the tanker.

The U.S. Department of Justice reportedly seized the tanker Suez Rajan under a court order for cooperating with at least one company associated with the vessel.. The Suez Rajan has come under scrutiny after it was accused last year of taking a cargo of Iranian oil, then destined for China, from another ship near Singapore.. The Justice Department declined to comment..

Previously unknown US actions on this tanker shed new light on Iran's decision to seize Advantage Sweet, a US-bound Kuwaiti crude tanker.

A US official said Thursday's confiscation of the tanker "

Iran has a history of tanker confiscations in response to Western actions. In 2019, Iran seized two British-flagged tankers shortly after the UK seized an Iranian vessel that had stopped in Gibraltar on its way to Syria.. Iran also seized two Greek-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz last year after Greece allowed the US to dump an Iranian tanker's cargo in Greek waters..

The news of the US confiscation also raises the question of whether operators were sufficiently warned of the potential heightened danger to vessels such as the Advantage Sweet near Iran..

Suez Rajan's alleged involvement in the US-sanctioned Iranian oil trade was discovered in February 2022 by United Against Nuclear Iran pressure group. The news led to a civil lawsuit by the families of victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks..

In an ongoing wider case, they sought to force the US to confiscate Iranian oil carried by Suez Rajan to help pay compensation awarded by a US court in 2018..

Suez Rajan began his current journey, up the Strait of Malacca and then west across the Indian Ocean, April 7. His current whereabouts are unknown: according to Spire Global, a satellite data company, he last transmitted his position on the evening of April 22, while heading southwest past Madagascar towards the Cape of Good Hope.

The Iranian tanker Advantage Sweet Suezmax was on a short-term charter for Chevron, one of the largest US oil companies.. Its crew, all Indian citizens, are now being held by Iran.. According to US Central Command, he was captured in the Gulf of Oman. Vessels and crew seized by Iran in the past were eventually released, but often within months.

[see_also ids\u003d"

Recall, the UN is concerned about the use of the so-called "

Earlier it was reported that Iran continues its cooperation with Russia, in particular, exchanging drones for cyber weapons..