Khaberni - 5 ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz in both directions today, Thursday, coinciding with the Iranian Navy's announcement of its closure from the Arabian Sea side, as Washington gears up for new military strikes and builds an international maritime coalition.
Navigational data tracked by Al Jazeera's Open Source Unit through the MarineTraffic platform showed the crossing of 3 oil tankers and 2 cargo ships, including two flying the Iranian flag, which left from Iranian ports.
Early this morning, the commander of the naval forces in the Iranian Army announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz from the Arabian Sea side, warning of a "swift operational action" if the currently present American forces advance, according to what was published by the Tasnim News Agency.
According to navigational data, the oil tanker OCEANJET, listed on the US sanctions list, coming from the port of Khor al-Zubair in Iraq, and heading to the Hamriyah Free Zone port in the UAE was observed. The ship's ownership record shows that its management belongs to a company based in India.
The oil tanker ATLANTIS II and the cargo ship MOMTAZ 2, both coming from the Iranian ports of Bandar Abbas and Rajai, were also flying the Iranian flag. An examination of the ownership records of the two ships showed that they are managed by companies based in Iran.
Data also indicates the crossing of the oil tanker SEAWAY, coming from the port of Khor Fakkan in the UAE, without disclosing its final destination, while the ownership record shows its management belongs to a company based in China.
The cargo ship HOSEI MARU NO.126, coming from the port of Suwaiq in Oman, also crossed without a declared destination in the available tracking data.
On the 62nd day of the American-Israeli war on Iran, and 23 days after the ceasefire, President Donald Trump urged Iran to surrender, saying it had been militarily defeated with its ships sunk in the sea, and its air force utterly destroyed, while Tehran threatened an unprecedented military action in response to what it called "American maritime piracy".
