It isn’t due to global warming, but the waters in the Persian Gulf are heating up.
A Singapore-Flagged ship sailing in international waters was fired upon by five Iranian Revolutionary Guards ships in the Persian Gulf.
The United Arab Emirate’s coastguard picked up a distress call from the ship under fire. “The ship sent a distress call to the UAE coastguard forces, which responded to the call and helped ship access to the port of Jebel Ali,” according to the WAM news agency.
The UAE’s coastguard said it went to the aid of a Singapore-flagged ship on Thursday after the vessel came under Iranian naval fire, the Gulf state’s news agency reported.
U.S. officials, who refused to speak on the record, said five Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy ships approached the Alpine Eternity oil products tanker, prompting the ship to flee to safety in United Arab Emirates’ waters, according to Reuters.
The White House, Pentagon and State Department acknowledged concern about Iran’s conduct. “This is exactly the type of challenge that many of the (Gulf) partners are focused on,” said White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes.
Two weeks ago, Iranian patrol ships diverted a Marshall Islands-flagged container vessel from the Strait of Hormuz allegedly to settle a years-old debt case.
