Iran's navy seizes oil tanker near Oman, heading for Houston

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

56% : The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has warned Iran has enriched enough up to 60% purity -- a short technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
53% : "The safety and welfare of our valued crew members is our No. 1 priority," the firm said.
50% : "Iran should immediately release the oil tanker."
50% : Thursday's seizure by Iran was the latest in a string of ship seizures and explosions to roil the region.
50% : That would be sufficient for Iran to make several nuclear weapons if it chooses to do so.___Associated Press writer Robert Badendieck in Istanbul contributed to this report.___Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.
48% : Since the deal's collapse, Iran runs advanced centrifuges and has a rapidly growing stockpile of enriched uranium.
45% : The last major seizure came when Iran took two Greek tankers in May and held them until November.
44% : The 5th Fleet said the Iranian seizure was at least the fifth commercial vessel taken by Tehran in the last two years.
43% : The Advantage Sweet issued a distress call at 1:15 p.m. while in international waters as Iran seized the vessel, the Navy said.
34% : Iran has made allegations in other seizures that later fell apart as it became clear Tehran was trying to leverage the capture as a chip to negotiate with foreign nations.
34% : U.S. Army Gen. Erik Kurilla, the top U.S. commander for the Middle East, said in a statement that the "illegal seizure" of the tanker was ""another in a continuing series of violations by Iran of the international rules-based order."
31% : Also, the U.S. Navy has blamed Iran for a series of limpet mine attacks on vessels that damaged tankers in 2019, as well as for a fatal drone attack on an Israeli-linked oil tanker that killed two European crew members in 2021.
30% : The incidents began after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers, which saw Tehran drastically limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
22% :Tehran denies carrying out the attacks, but a wider shadow war between Iran and the West has played out in the region's volatile waters.

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