Iranian Navy fires in international waters

Rico says they're asking for it:

An Iranian ship fired warning shots across the bow of a ship from Singapore in the Persian Gulf, in the third such aggressive incident by Tehran against commercial vessels in recent weeks. An Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps patrol boat (photo) fired across the bow of the Alpine Eternity, an oil tanker manned by twenty-plus crew members. The ship was sailing in international waters near the coast of the United Arab Emirates when it was attacked.
According to American officials, coastguard vessels from the UAE came to the ship’s aid after hearing a cry for help. The Iranian patrol boats gave up the fight shortly thereafter.
A statement issued through Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority said that "such interference with navigational rights is a serious violation of international law. The freedom of navigation and free flow of commerce are of critical importance to Singapore and other maritime and trading nations."
As with the other incidents, Iran claimed to have a legal dispute with the Alpine Eternity and its parent company. In late March of 2015, the Singapore ship accidentally hit an Iranian oil platform. Although Iranian officials demanded reparations, to date the shipping company has not paid Iran any compensation.
On 28 April 2015, Iran seized control of a ship in the Straits of Hormuz flying the flag of the Marshall Islands, after firing warning shots across its bow and ordering the ship to sail into Iranian waters. Iran again claimed that there was a financial dispute over goods that had not been delivered. The ship was released more than a week later.
After that incident, the American navy accompanied ships bearing the US flag through the Straits for a week’s time. A few days previously, a ship bearing the US flag was intercepted and surrounded by four patrol boats of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards navy. After following the ship on its course for some time, the aggressive action ended when the patrol boats pulled away.
“Iran is playing a game that is apparent to those it’s playing with but conducted under legal pretense,” said Afshon Ostovar, a senior analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses and adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University’s Kreiger School who expertise is in Iran. “The Iranians have done their homework. They knew which ship to attack and how to justify their action.”
The posturing comes amidst the final stages of negotiations with the US and other Western world powers over Iran’s nuclear aspirations, as well as tensions with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States who are supporting Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi against the Iranian-backed Houti rebels who are fighting to take over Yemen.
The Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz are the two key conduits for petroleum traded by sea. About twenty percent of the world's petroleum, and close to thirty-five percent of the petroleum traded by sea, passes through the Strait.
Iranian muscle-flexing in these key waterways Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz can be read as a warning ahead of a key shipment of alleged humanitarian aid Iran is planning to ferry to Yemen during a five-day humanitarian cease fire. Iran has vowed to send the shipment to the port city of Hodeida in defiance of the American-Saudi coalition that has designated the city of Djibouti as the distribution point for all humanitarian aid. An Iranian naval escort will accompany the ship.
America is closely monitoring the vessel and has pointedly questioned why a naval escort is necessary for an aid ship. The ship is scheduled to arrive in Yemen on 20 May 2015.
In an embarrassing incident in April, an Iranian convoy of ships on route to Yemen turned around when confronted with American naval ships tracking its course.
 “The return of the convoy was very embarrassing, and it was very public,” Ostovar said. “The leadership had to respond.”
Scott Lucas, an Iran analyst and professor of international relations at Birmingham University in the UK, commented that another confrontation could disrupt the nuclear talks. “If we have a major confrontation over an Iranian cargo ship, then there’s no way you are going to insulate the talks,” he said.