Officials tell AP that Iran seized Vietnamese oil tanker

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has seized a Vietnamese-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman last month and still holds the vessel off Bandar Abbas. That’s according to two U.S. officials who spoke to The Associated Press. One of the officials says Iranian Revolutionary Guard troops took control of the MV Southys on Oct. 24 at gunpoint. A motive for the seizure remains unclear. Officials in Vietnam acknowledged the incident. The information has yet to be made public amid ongoing attempts to restart talks in Vienna with Iran over its tattered nuclear deal. Iran celebrated the capture of the vessel in dramatic footage on state TV the day before the 42nd anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.