Iran is playing hardball off its coast again

Reporting today says that Iran seized a Panama-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz early on Wednesday. It is the second such incident in less than a week.

The Niovi,was sailing from Dubai towards Fujairah, another port in the United Arab Emirates, when it was stopped by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy.

“A dozen IRGCN fast-attack craft swarmed the vessel in the middle of the strait,” said the US Fifth Fleet, referring to the Revolutionary Guard’s naval force.