British navy now calls incident off the United Arab Emirates’ coast a ‘potential hijack’

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – The British navy has warned of a “potential hijack” of a ship off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in the Gulf of Oman, without elaborating. The incident Tuesday night comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the West over its tattered nuclear deal and as commercial shipping in the region has found itself in the crosshairs over it. Most recently, the U.S., the U.K. and Israel have blamed Iran for a drone attack on an oil tanker off Oman that killed two people. The British military initially warned ships that “an incident is currently underway” off of Fujairah. Hours later, they said the incident was a “potential hijack.”