A group of eight or nine armed individuals, backed by Iran, are believed to have boarded the vessel, a security source tells Sky News.
Armed personnel backed by Iran are suspected of seizing an oil tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in what a Royal Navy threat centre called a “potential hijacking”.
The White House described reports about the Asphalt Princess as "deeply concerning".
But Iran's Revolutionary Guards denied that its forces or allies were involved in any incident, claiming the allegations were a pretext for "hostile action" against Tehran, state television reported on its website.
It comes at a time of heightened tensions following a suspected Iranian drone attack on an Israeli-linked tanker less than a week ago that left a British national and a Romanian dead.
The UK, Israel and the United States have accused Iran of the assault and vowed to respond.
British officials - so far - don't appear to regard the targeting of the Panama-flagged Asphalt Princess, operated by a company based in Dubai, as a new escalation, though there are clearly concerns about a ship allegedly being seized by Iranian-linked gunmen.
A security source said a group of eight or nine individuals were believed to have boarded the ship. "It was an unauthorised boarding in the Gulf of Oman," the source said.
https://news.sky.com/story/potential-hijack-of-ship-off-uae-coast-12371922
Iran acting up.
BTW I have a bunch of headlines/snips but waiting to see if new thread pops up.