Iran seizes oil tanker at center dispute with US

Subject: IR

Section: Places in news

Context:

The Panama-flagged oil tanker Niovi of the US Navy was seized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) while passing through the narrow Strait of Hormuz.

More on news:

Iran has seized a second oil tanker in a week.
Tehran’s prosecutor announced that the oil tanker was seized on a judicial order following a complaint by a plaintiff
The incident comes after Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman called the Advantage Sweet.
Advantage Sweet’s seizure by Iran was in response to a recent seizure via a court order by the United States of an oil cargo aboard the Marshall Islands tanker

About Strait of Hormuz:

The Strait of Hormuz is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world’s most strategically important choke points.
On the north coast lies Iran, and on the south coast lies the Musandam peninsula, shared by the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
About a fifth of the world’s crude oil and oil products passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow choke point between Iran and Oman