Pentagon denies Iran captured U.S. cargo ship in Persian Gulf

(IraqiNews.com) Pentagon spokesman Col. Steven Warren denied that Iran seized a U.S. ship in the Persian Gulf. The comment came after Saudi owned TV channel al-Arabiya claimed Iran had captured a U.S. cargo ship and detained 34 American sailors aboard.

Warren said that the cargo ship involved was flagged to the Marshall Islands noting that it had been boarded by Iranians but that no one was injured and no Americans were on board. He added that the ship issued a distress call and the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command sent a destroyer ship and an aircraft to the area of the incident in order to monitor the situation.

Warren noted that the Iranian forces fired warning shots at the Marshall Islands-flagged cargo vessel ‘The Maersk Tigris’ for traversing the Strait of Hormuz in territorial waters.

Earlier today, al-Arabiya News Channel reported that the Iranian forces had fired at a U.S. cargo ship with up to 34 American sailors on board and had directed the ship to the Bandar Abbas port on the southern coast of Iran without mentioning any further details.