Pirates!

[midnight rambler]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...-1/2038461001/

[osoab]

If this is a tat, what will be the tit?

[keehah]

Hard to keep track of all the tits and tats.

Perhaps all the thieving and smiting (to start a world war!!!) western public servant and polio initiators should be replaced with competent diplomats.

Wikipedia: Tit for tat

[T]he tit-for-tat strategy has been of beneficial use to social psychologists and sociologists in studying effective techniques to reduce conflict. Research has indicated that when individuals who have been in competition for a period of time no longer trust one another, the most effective competition reverser is the use of the tit-for-tat strategy. Individuals commonly engage in behavioral assimilation, a process in which they tend to match their own behaviors to those displayed by cooperating or competing group members. Therefore, if the tit-for-tat strategy begins with cooperation, then cooperation ensues. On the other hand, if the other party competes, then the tit-for-tat strategy will lead the alternate party to compete as well. Ultimately, each action by the other member is countered with a matching response, competition with competition and cooperation with cooperation.

In the case of conflict resolution, the tit-for-tat strategy is effective for several reasons: the technique is recognized as clear, nice, provocable, and forgiving. Firstly, it is a clear and recognizable strategy. Those using it quickly recognize its contingencies and adjust their behavior accordingly. Moreover, it is considered to be nice as it begins with cooperation and only defects in response to competition. The strategy is also provocable because it provides immediate retaliation for those who compete. Finally, it is forgiving as it immediately produces cooperation should the competitor make a cooperative move.

The implications of the tit-for-tat strategy have been of relevance to conflict research, resolution and many aspects of applied social science.

ft.com: US seizure of oil vessel triggered Iran tanker capture

APRIL 28 2023The people said the US Department of Justice seized the tanker, the Suez Rajan, under a court order with co-operation from at least one company involved with the vessel. The Suez Rajan has been the subject of scrutiny since it was accused last year of taking on board a cargo of Iranian oil, then intended for China, from another ship near Singapore. The DoJ declined to comment.

The previously unreported US action towards the Suez Rajan shines a new light on Iran’s decision to capture the Advantage Sweet, a US-bound tanker of Kuwaiti crude that was chartered by Chevron.

A US official said Thursday’s “seizure appears to be in retaliation for a prior US seizure of Iranian oil, which Iran recently attempted to get back but failed”.

Iran has a history of seizing tankers in retaliation for western countries targeting its crude oil shipments. In 2019, Iran seized two British-flagged tankers shortly after the UK impounded an Iranian vessel that had stopped at Gibraltar en route to Syria. Last year, Iran also took two Greek-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz after Greece had allowed the US to drain the cargo of an Iranian tanker in Greek waters.

oilprice.com: Iran Seizes U.S. Oil Tanker in Act of Revenge for 1M Barrels Seized in 2023

Jan 11, 2024
An American oil tanker reported to have been hijacked in the Gulf of Oman earlier on Thursday was seized by Iran in retribution for the U.S. seizure of 1 million barrels of Iranian oil last year.

The Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker, the St. Nikolas, was previously named the Suez Rajan, which was entangled in a sanctions dispute for transporting Iranian oil that eventually led to the seizure of that oil in 2023.

The Suez Rajan had been accused by the U.S. of violating sanctions, with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) using it to sell sanctioned oil to China. Last year, Iran vowed revenge for the incident.

On Thursday, the vessel was boarded by men in masks near Oman’s Port of Sohar. On its way between Basria, Iraq, to Turkey, the hijacked ship was ordered to sail for Iran and communications with the vessel were lost. Shortly afterwards, Iran’s state-run TV reported that the Iranian Navy had seized the vessel.

"The violating oil tanker Suez Rajan ... stole Iranian oil by leading it to the Americans and delivered it to the Americans," state TV said.

"After the theft of Iranian oil by the United States last year, St Nikolas tanker was seized by Iran's Navy this morning with a judicial order ... it is en route to Iranian ports," Iran’s Fars news agency reported, citing the Iranian Navy.