A ship anchored off the east coast of the United Arab Emirates has been seized and is heading toward Iranian territorial waters, the British military reported on Thursday.
Incident Details
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center said it received reports that the vessel was taken by unauthorized personnel while anchored 38 nautical miles (70 kilometers, 44 miles) northeast of the UAE port of Fujairah, near the Strait of Hormuz. UKMTO did not name the ship and stated that investigations are ongoing. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the seizure.
Fujairah is a critical oil export terminal and the UAE's main port outside the Persian Gulf. It has been repeatedly targeted during the war with Iran.
Context of Recent Seizures
Iran has seized a number of ships since the war began. Last week, its navy seized an oil tanker identified as the Ocean Koi, alleging it was attempting to disrupt oil exports and Iranian interests, according to the official IRNA news agency. The tanker was seized in the Gulf of Oman and was carrying Iranian oil when it was boarded and taken to Iran's southern coast. The United States sanctioned the Ocean Koi in February, stating it had been part of a 'shadow fleet' transporting Iranian oil.
Diplomatic Tensions
This incident follows Iran's foreign minister stating on Wednesday that Tehran had the right to respond after accusing Kuwait of attacking an Iranian boat and arresting four of its citizens in the Gulf. Abbas Araghchi wrote on X: 'This illegal act took place near an island used by the US to attack Iran. We demand immediate release of our nationals and reserve the right to respond.'
Kuwait's interior ministry said in a statement published by state news agency KUNA on Tuesday that four people were arrested earlier this month as they attempted to enter the country by sea and confessed to belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guards. The four men—two navy colonels, a captain, and a lieutenant commander—admitted they had been tasked by Iran's ideological army with 'infiltrating' Bubiyan Island. Iran's foreign ministry called the allegations 'absolutely baseless' and said the four officers had entered Kuwaiti waters by mistake 'due to disruption in the navigation system'.
US-China Summit
In other developments, US President Donald Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, where they discussed the Iran war among other issues such as trade and Taiwan. Trump told Xi that their countries would have 'a fantastic future together' as they began the superpower summit. Heaping praise on his host, Trump told Xi it was 'an honour to be your friend', while Xi, in less effusive tones, said the two sides 'should be partners and not rivals'.
The trip to Beijing is the first by a US president in nearly a decade, with the grand reception belying unresolved trade and geopolitical tensions. Xi questioned if China and the US could build cooperation rather than head for confrontation, underlining that 'a stable China-US relationship is a boon for the world'. Cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both, Xi said. Trump said he expected a 'long talk' with Xi about Iran, which sells most of its US-sanctioned oil to China, but insisted that 'I don't think we need any help with Iran' from Beijing.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, known as a fierce opponent of Beijing, struck a somewhat different tone. 'We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they are doing now, and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf,' Rubio told broadcaster Fox News in an interview aired Wednesday.
Israel-UAE Relations
Meanwhile, Israel revealed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had quietly visited the United Arab Emirates during the Israeli-US war with Iran, though the UAE swiftly denied that any secret visit had occurred. The Gulf nation normalized relations with Israel in 2020. Iran has criticized that agreement and has repeatedly suggested that Israel maintained a military and intelligence presence in the Emirates. Israeli leaders have made occasional visits to the UAE in recent years after normalizing relations.
