U.S. Demands Iran Release Foreign Ship, Crew Seized This Week
- Tehran says the ship Riah was taken in for smuggling fuel
- Seizure follows months of friction in oil-rich Persian Gulf
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The U.S. condemned Iranian naval activity in the Persian Gulf and demanded the Islamic Republic release a small tanker and its crew that its forces seized earlier this week as tensions in the Persian Gulf remain high.
Iran said it seized the ship -- the Panamanian-flagged Riah -- because it was smuggling fuel in the Persian Gulf. Patrolling forces stopped the carrier on July 14 south of Larak island, close to the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping chokepoint at the mouth of the Gulf, according to state-run Tasnim news agency.