Iranian state television... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
aired footage on Friday of its helicopter-borne commandos swooping in and seizing control of a US-bound oil tanker that was sailing through international waters in the Gulf of Oman.
A video of the assault shows masked Iranian navy commandos rappelling from a hovering chopper onto the deck of the Chinese-owned Advantage Sweet.
One was photographed with his fist in the air after they took over the tanker, which was on its way from Kuwait to Houston.
Tehran says it captured the ship Thursday because it ran into an unidentified Iranian vessel and hurt several crew members.
But the country hasn’t proven its claim — and the act fits into Iran’s pattern of grabbing other ships and holding them as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West.
It’s the fifth commercial vessel seized by Iranian forces in the past two years, the US Navy’s 5th Fleet said.
"Iran’s actions are contrary to international law and disruptive to regional security and stability," the 5th Fleet said after the raid.
"The Iranian government should immediately release the oil tanker.