Security firms say suspicious object on oil tanker off Iraq

Map locates tanker (Associated Press)

Dec. 31, 2020 at 4:13 a.m. HST

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Sailors involved in transferring fuel oil from an Iraqi tanker in the Persian Gulf to another vessel owned by a shipping company traded in the U.S. discovered a “suspicious object” they fear could be a mine, authorities said Thursday.

The discovery comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. in the waning days of President Donald Trump’s administration