Arya News - The US military has been smuggling fuel in the coastal waters of Oman with the assistance of the United Arab Emirates, Iranian Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said on Sunday.
"The US Central Command"s chief leads the smuggling operations with the assistance of the UAE military," Rezaei told Iran"s Press TV channel. The US uses five or six small vessels to reload oil onto bigger tankers. However, Iran strikes them every night, the secretary said. On February 28, the United States and Israel began attacking targets in Iran, to which Iran responded with its own strikes. In March, the US and Israel attacked targets at the South Pars gas field and the Assaluyeh industrial zone in southern Iran. In mid-June, Tehran and Washington signed a memorandum to cease hostilities, but shortly thereafter exchanged strikes again. At present, the conflict remains unresolved. The escalation of the conflict has virtually halted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key supply route for global oil, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas. As a result, fuel prices have risen in most countries.