[News] Iranian navy forces US destroyer to retreat from Sea of Oman

[Anti-Imperialist News]

  Iranian navy forces US destroyer to retreat from Sea of Oman

The incident comes after Iranian forces seized a foreign tanker in the 
same waters for fuel smuggling earlier this month

News Desk <https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9>

JUL 23, 2025 - 
https://thecradle.co/articles/iranian-navy-forces-us-destroyer-to-retreat-from-sea-of-oman

(Photo credit: Lance Davis/Huntington Ingalls Industries)

The Iranian naval forces intercepted a US destroyer attempting to 
approach waters under Tehran’s control in the Sea of Oman, forcing it to 
turn away, Iranian state television reported on 23 July.

According to the report, the army’s naval aviation hovered over the US 
vessel and issued a warning to stay away. The destroyer responded by 
threatening to target the Iranian aircraft.

“The Iranian Navy helicopter hovered over the US destroyer, issued a 
warning, and asked it to stay away,” state media quoted the army officer 
as saying. “The US destroyer threatened to target the aircraft, but the 
Iranian pilot continued his mission and repeated his warning to stay 
away from Iranian waters.”

Following repeated threats from the USS Fitzgerald, the report said the 
Iranian army’s air defense system “intervened and issued a decisive 
message” affirming the helicopter was under complete protection and 
ordering the destroyer to “change course southward.”

On 16 July, Iranian authorities seized a foreign tanker 
<https://thecradle.co/articles/iran-seizes-foreign-tanker-smuggling-fuel-in-gulf-of-oman>in 
the Gulf of Oman on charges of fuel smuggling, detaining 17 crew members.

Chief Justice of Hormozgan Province Mojtaba Ghahremani said the vessel 
was carrying two million liters of fuel without proper documentation and 
had been placed under judicial investigation.

“Seventeen individuals, including the tanker's captain and crew, have 
been detained,” Ghahremani told /Mehr News Agency/. He added that tests 
were underway to determine the cargo’s volume and legality.

In March 2024, Iran joined China and Russia in large-scale naval drills 
<https://thecradle.co/articles-id/23859>in the Sea of Oman involving 
over 20 ships and combat helicopters.

Russia’s defense ministry said the exercise was meant to “protect 
maritime economic activities.”

In April 2023, Iran seized the Marshall Islands–flagged oil tanker 
<https://thecradle.co/articles-id/581>Advantage Sweet in the same waters.

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