Armed assailants attempted to seize a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, several armed motorboats hailed a commercial vessel over maritime radio and ordered it to stop near Qeshm Island, within Iran's sovereign waters, between the Iranian and Omani coasts. The ship's captain chose to ignore the calls, declined to stop and continued on course.
The Strait of Hormuz is not considered an area of activity for pirates or non-state armed groups. This has led to growing suspicion that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps may have been involved. The force has a record, particularly during periods of heightened regional tension, of flexing its muscles by intercepting and seizing foreign vessels.
