(urr Nyc) Underground Railroad Radio

Iran seized a South Korean-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz hours before announcing it would increase its nuclear activities, as tensions in the region mount in the final days of Donald Trump’s U.S. presidency. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it detained the Hankuk Chemi vessel at 10 a.m. local time on Monday “due to repeated violations of marine environmental laws.” It’s the latest in a series of shipping incidents in the Persian Gulf, where several vessels have been attacked or seized in recent years. The events have unfolded against a broader backdrop of rising anxiety in the Middle East as the Trump administration extended its offensive to weaken Iran and force it into deeper nuclear and military concessions. Concerns of more conflict have mounted in the final weeks before Joe Biden takes over in Washington, especially around the recent assassination of a top Iranian nuclear scientist and this week’s first anniversary of the killing of the country’s leading general. Iran’s army a