By: Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer

Was the Panama-flagged British oil tanker really hijacked in the Gulf of Oman as claimed by the pro Zionist media horns of the West and Arab client states?
If so, who were those hijackers who after a few hours aboard the ‘Asphalt Princess’ disembarked undetected and disappeared in thin air, leaving the vessel adrift off the coast of the UAE emirate of Fujairah?
These are some of the questions investigative journalists are posing in the wake of the recent reports from the Gulf of Oman that ships are being targeted, causing inconvenience to Britain, the meddling Americans, and the illegal Zionist entity.
And who is behind this sudden spate of explosive incidents on the high seas?
Without any proof, the Islamic Republic of Iran, or those affiliated with it?
Analysts ask: Why would Tehran indulge in such acts in its own regional waters that are against the interests of Iran and its principled policy of ensuring peace, and stability?
This question draws a blank from its accusers in Washington, London, Tel Aviv, and the capitals of the rootless Arab regimes – all of whom continue to caw like crows that ‘Iran did it’.
It should be recalled that a couple of years ago they had carried a similar futile campaign against Iran by damaging four of their own vessels in these same waters in a bid to lay the blame on the Islamic Republic, whose power, prestige, and support for legitimate governments and freedom movements are an anathema to both state and non-state terrorists.
The Islamic Republic, which had categorically rejected their allegations in 2019 by pointing out that no Iranian boat or craft was near to the mysteriously damaged vessels of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Norway, again brushes aside such fake news as nothing but a clumsy attempt to indulge in psychological warfare.
Iran, however, is on full alert against any adventurism by its enemies and will powerfully thwart all mischief.
A truly impartial investigation – and certainly not by the accusing parties and their protégés – will definitely reveal that the ‘Asphalt Princess’ was neither boarded by unidentified persons nor was there any attempt to hijack it.
It will also lay bare last week’s claim of a Romanian and British national killed on board the ‘Mercer Street’, a Japanese-owned, Liberian-flagged, and Israeli hired oil tanker, which was allegedly attacked by Iran some 150 nautical miles off the coast of Oman.
In such a case, the much propagandized picture of smoke billowing from the said tanker will definitely be exposed as an accidental fire on the deck that may or may not have killed any person.
Of course, the Iranian naval forces have a round-the-clock presence in the regional waters to ensure the safety of navigation for vessels of all countries, and fully believe that the culprits behind the recent incidents – as in 2019 – are the Americans, the British, and the Zionists.