WhatFinger


That's not really what happened.

Oil prices jump on reports that Iran seized control of a US cargo ship and its crew. But....



Oil prices jump on reports that Iran seized control of a US cargo ship and its crew. But
Earlier today, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television ran a story claiming that a US Cargo ship had been seized by Iranian forces and taken to the port of Bandar Abbas.
News outlets around the world picked up on the piece and as the story quickly spread the claim morphed. Allegedly, the vessel in question belonged to the Navy. However, there are a few problems here. First, here's the post as it appears on Al Arabiya's English website.
Iran has fired at a U.S. cargo ship and has directed it to Bandar Abbas port on the southern coast of Iran, Al Arabiya News Channel has reported on Tuesday. Up to 34 American sailors are believed to be onboard the ship, Al Arabiya reported.
Note that there's no mention of it being a Navy vessel. No one seems entirely sure where that claim originated.

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Next, we learned that no ship flying a U.S. flag was taken. From CNBC:
Oil futures rose on Tuesday on a report of the seizure of a U.S. vessel. Saudi-owned pan-Arab television station Al Arabiya reported a U.S. cargo ship was taken to Bandar Abbas on the southern cost of Iran. The report could not be independently verified. Shots were fired at the ship before it was steered to the Bandar Abbas port, the Arab television station said on its twitter feed. A U.S. official told Reuters that there are no indications of any U.S. ship being directed into an Iranian port. "It was a big move for a moment there. It seems with denials" stocks are coming back," said Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG. "It's all earnings."
Well, thank goodness stocks are coming back. That will certainly come as a great comfort to 34 crew members of what we now know is a captured freighter flying the flag of The Marshall Islands. Phew. For a minute there, it looked like this might involve an actual U.S. ship, which would have made Obama's desperate desire for an Iranian nuclear "deal" awkward. Fortunately, since it's turned out that the ship and crew "only" belong to one of our close allies, the President can get back to helping the totally peaceful nation of Iran get its bomb.


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