[Developing Story]
According to an Al Arabiya report Iran claims that it has captured a U.S. ship with American sailors aboard:
Iran has fired at a U.S. cargo ship and has directed it to Bandar Abbas port on the southern coast of Iran, Al Arabiya News Channel has reported on Tuesday.
Up to 34 American sailors are believed to be onboard the ship, Al Arabiya reported.
A Pentagon spokesman said that the vessel involved was the M/V Maersk Tigris, flagged to the Marshall Islands, and that no Americans were on board.
At this point, no U.S. military action is expected on the ship that was seized Tuesday aside from monitoring the situation. The U.S. believes that Iranians will “send the ship on its way,” the senior official said.
According to a CNN report, the ship was forced, under fire, to divert into Iranian waters where the Iranians boarded her:
“The master was contacted and directed to proceed further into Iranian territorial waters. He declined and one of the IRGCN craft fired shots across the bridge of the Maersk Tigris,” said Warren, referring to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy. “The master complied with the Iranian demand and proceeded into Iranian waters in the vicinity of Larak Island.”
After the shots were fired, the Tigris issued a distress call that was picked up by U.S. forces in the area, and the USS Farragut was ordered to head towards the incident. The closest U.S. warship was 60 miles away.
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