Iran acknowledges it seized South Korean-flagged oil tanker

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian state television has acknowledged that Tehran seized a South Korean-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.

The report on Monday alleged that the MT Hankuk Chemi had been stopped by Iranian authorities over alleged “oil pollution” in the Persian Gulf and the strait.

The semiofficial Fars news agency said Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s naval forces seized the ship.

Satellite data from MarineTraffic.com showed the MT Hankuk Chemi off the port of Bandar Abbas on Monday afternoon without explanation. It had been traveling from Saudi Arabia to Fujairah in the UAE. The ship’s owners could not be immediately reached for comment.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran on Monday began enriching uranium up to 20% at an underground facility, a short technical step from weapons-grade levels, as fears mounted that a South Korean-flagged oil tanker had been seized by Tehran in the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

The announcement of enrichment at Fordo came at the same time Western officials said they feared the MT Hankuk Chemi had been seized.

It comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States in the waning days of President Donald Trump's term in office, which saw the U.S. leader unilaterally withdraw from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers and set off months of escalating incidents between the two countries.

Iranian state television quoted spokesman Ali Rabiei as saying that President Hassan Rouhani had given the order for the move at the Fordo facility.

Iran’s decision to begin enriching to 20% a decade ago nearly brought an Israeli strike targeting its nuclear facilities, tensions that only abated with the 2015 atomic deal. A...