Islamic Republic's Interference with Commercial Ships; Iran Loses Hosting of an International Meeting

Iran's proposal to host a maritime affairs meeting in October was rejected. This was announced by the spokesperson for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) of the United Nations on Thursday. Iran's candidacy was rejected after the United States' proposal to annul the Islamic Republic's request was approved in a vote at the IMO. Reuters states that this action is likely to increase tensions between Washington and Tehran following Iran's attempt to seize the Richmond Voyager tanker, which is managed by the major American oil company Chevron. Earlier in July, Iran attempted to seize that tanker in international waters of the Persian Gulf. Iran had proposed to host an event related to shipping (in late October this year coinciding with World Maritime Day hosted by the IMO) which was accepted by the IMO Executive Council in 2015. The United States submitted a working paper to the IMO Council, which is taking place this week, proposing the cancellation of Iran's hosting. Reuters reports that it has seen this paper. The United States, supported by Britain, states in this request: 'In the past two years, Iran has attacked, harassed, or seized over 20 commercial vessels.' The U.S. document claims that Iran has seized or attempted to seize commercial ships without any alleged reason, warning, or prior justification. The U.S. added that Iran fired real bullets at the Richmond Voyager, which 'endangers the lives of sailors.' The spokesperson for the IMO stated that most member countries of the IMO Council voted in favor of the U.S. proposal to revoke Iran's hosting on Thursday. The council consists of forty countries. On Thursday, Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, threatened that the Islamic Republic would take retaliatory action against any oil company that unloads Iranian oil from a seized tanker. According to Reuters and a maritime security company, the United States seized a shipment of Iranian oil from a tanker in an enforcement operation in April. The U.S. has stated that it will deploy more fighter jets to monitor the waters of the Middle East. More ships and fighter jets are on their way to the Persian Gulf; the U.S. is strengthening its military presence. The Revolutionary Guards warned oil companies about unloading the seized oil shipment. The U.S. is sending F-16 fighter jets to the Persian Gulf. The U.S. Navy reported that Iran seized a ship suspected of smuggling.