US shocked by IRGC heliborne operation in abortive act of piracy, says Iranian commander

“The Americans, together with their agents, sought to steal [Iran’s] oil, prevent the oil’s sale, implement the sanctions project, and humiliate the Iranian people, but they were taken aback,” IRGC Deputy Commander for Political Affairs Brigadier General Yadollah Javani told Tasnim news agency on Sunday.

He added that the IRGC Navy managed to “cleverly capture the oil tanker by carrying out a heliborne operation and steered the ship towards the Islamic Republic’s waters.”

The Americans then “threatened Iran and activated their military units and took an offensive position to prevent the ship from reaching the Iranian waters but their plan failed,” the IRGC commander said.

He emphasized that the failed act of piracy was “another defeat” for the US and “another honor” for the Iranian nation.

“The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic are powerful and mighty in defending the rights of the Iranian people and are fiercely determined to protect national interests,” Javani pointed out.

He further said the Iranian nation is resolute on fighting the arrogant powers and would not tolerate any act of aggression, adding, “We have the ability to respond to any threat.”

The Iranian nation has proved that it is not fearful of the enemy at all, the top IRGC commander emphasized.

The IRGC’s Navy released a video last week showing Iranian forces landing on the deck of a tanker that had seized an Iranian oil shipment in an “act of piracy”. They then navigated the vessel toward Iranian waters. The incident took place on October 25.

Earlier, American forces had confiscated a tanker carrying the cargo of Iranian oil in the strategic Sea of Oman and transferred its consignment of crude to the IRGC-captured MV Sothys, a Vietnamese-flagged ship.

In a statement, the IRGC said that after the American forces had transferred the crude to the second vessel, “timely and powerful” action by the Guards’ servicemen “frustrated the operation by the terrorist US Army’s naval forces to steal the Islamic Republic of Iran’s oil in the Sea of Oman.”

A senior Iranian lawmaker on Saturday said the Islamic Republic reserves the right to sue the US over its failed act of piracy.

Shahriar Heidari, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said the promotion of Iran’s naval power is a matter of serious concern for the US, which sought to show off its own power but its failed attempt only brought disgrace and humiliation to the Americans.

His remarks came days after IRGC Chief Commander Major General Hossein Salami said the United States is accustomed to suffering back-to-back defeat from Iran but has yet to learn a lesson.

“The Americans are used to constantly suffering defeats at the hands of the Iranian people, but of course, this has not yet become a lesson for them. The decline of the United States has begun, and on the contrary, we have increasingly been boosting political vitality and revolutionary enthusiasm and our establishment has been reaching higher levels of power day by day,” Salami said.