STEALTH ATTACK
Iranian ships are posing as US or British warships and interfering with GPS so they can seize oil tankers, officials warn
IRANIAN ships are posing as US or British warships and interfering with the GPS of oil tankers so they can seize them, officials have warned.
A new alert has been issued to commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf amid an escalating tanker row with Iran.
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US officials revealed vessels have reported “spoofed bridge-to-bridge communications” from unknown ships falsely claiming to be US or coalition warships.
Tensions with Iran have reached breaking point in the past few weeks, with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard seizing three tankers in a month.
The latest warning listed a series of incidents involving Iran since May, including the seizure of the British-flagged Stena Impero on July 19.
The detention and subsequent release of the Liberian-flagged MV Mesdar – within hours of the Impero – was also mentioned.
US officials said vessels reported GPS interference during at least two recent encounters involving Iranian military forces.
One vessel reportedly shut off its Automatic Identification System (AIS) before it was seized, complicating response efforts.
'GPS INTERFERENCE'
US Central Command issued a statement saying: "Vessels have reported GPS interference, bridge-to-bridge communications spoofing, and/or other communications jamming with little to no warning."
"The US remains committed to working with allies and regional partners to safeguard the freedom of navigation, the free flow of commerce, and the protection of U.S. vessels and personnel in this region.”
A US defence official told CNN that Iran has placed GPS jammers on Iran-controlled Abu Musa Island, which lies in the Persian Gulf close to the entrance of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian forces reportedly hope the jammers will disrupt civilian aircraft and ship navigation systems, so they may mistakenly wander into Iranian waters.
This would give forces the excuse needed to seize them.
THIRD TANKER SEIZED IN ONE MONTH
The stark warning comes days after Iran seized a foreign tanker in the Gulf, in what would be the third such seizure in a month amid heightened tensions.
The "surprise attack" was near tiny Farsi Island, half way between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claim they seized the ship because it was carrying around 700,000 litres of smuggled fuel.
Seven foreign crew members were arrested in the operation carried out last Wednesday night, said Fars news agency, which is considered close to the Guards.
Tensions between arch-enemies Iran and the US have soared this year after Washington stepped up its campaign of "maximum pressure" against Tehran.
ESCALATING TENSIONS
Ships have been attacked, drones downed and oil tankers seized since May, a year after the US withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal between Iran.
At the height of the crisis, US President Donald Trump called off air strikes against Iran at the last minute in June after the Islamic republic's forces shot down a US drone.
Boris Johnson ordered the Royal Navy to accompany all British-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz in an escalation of the Iran crisis.
The seizure of the latest tanker would be the third by Iran in less than a month in Gulf waters - a conduit for much of the world's crude oil.
On July 18, the Guards said they had detained the Panama-flagged for MT Riah for alleged fuel smuggling.
And a day later, they announced they had impounded the British-flagged Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz for breaking "international maritime rules".
The seizure of the Stena Impero came two weeks after Royal Marines seized a supertanker believed to be carrying Iranian crude oil to Syria on July 4.
TANKER ROW
The oil tanker Grace 1 was detained on suspicion it was breaking European sanctions by taking oil to Syria.
Three Iranian boats also tried to seize a BP oil tanker as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday July 10.
Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose - which was escorting the tanker through the flashpoint region - was forced to sail in front of the boats.
After quickly training its 30mm deck guns on the enemy boats, deploying its Wildcat helicopter and issuing a radio warning, the Iranian boats scarpered.
HMS Duncan was then deployed to patrol the busy shipping lane as all UK flagged vessels were put on the highest security alert level.
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But an Iranian bomb boat was found in its path, meaning the HMS Duncan could have been destroyed by the unmanned attack ship packed with explosives, the Mirror reports.
Iran had earlier been blamed for a series of devastating sea mine attacks on US-linked oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian republic has been squaring up to the West as it reels over the scrapping of the so-called nuclear deal by the US.
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Iranian State TV claims Islamic Revolutionary Guards have seized a British oil tanker at the Strait of Homuz
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