Link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56684775
Last January, Iran seized a South Korean tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, citing that it violated Iranian pollution regulations for ships passing through their waters. Tonight, it was released alongside its captain (crew were released in February): none of the captain or crew were harmed, and the ship with its cargo remains undamaged.
Although Iran denies the claim, it’s widely accepted that the seizure of the ship was tied to sudden sanctions reimposed on them by the United States and unjust treatment of their funds. Parallel to the news of the tanker being seized, the Iranian foreign minister aired grievances about millions of dollars being trapped in tertiary South Korean banks which should have been exempt from any imposed sanctions, as they claimed it was for food and medicine. On top of the sanctions and trapped money, US-Iran relations have been experiencing a drastic decline since the Trump Administration entered office and the nuclear deal was rejected; it was likely no coincidence that the ship was seized just over a year following the bombing of Qassem Suleimani.
The seizure of the ship initially raised threat levels manyfold for US navy vessels stationed near the Strait of Hormuz, but this conflict was settled to be unsurprisingly benign. Shortly before the ship was seized, the US backed off its supercarrier the USS Nimitz in good faith for de-escalation, but Iran clearly doesn’t follow the same interests. The greater concerns of Iran’s nuclearization overshadow any grudges held between the US and Iran for our South Korean ally, and will continue to mount in the face of a greater Iran-China axis.
The Strait of Hormuz is an incredibly valuable asset, and this conflict’s significance is that it proved Iran holds dominion over it and will take advantage of this, imposing their control in order to settle international disputes again in the future.