Aerial refueling

Excise officials have ordered a gas station to close for two years after finding it was selling adulterated fuel and had an illegal storage tank.

In a statement, the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) said that during an on-site inspection, its officers found a parked tanker which was about to deliver fuel to the filling station's tanks.

Five U.S. servicepeople were killed when a military helicopter crashed over the eastern Mediterranean Sea during a training mission, U.S. officials said Sunday.

The military's European Command said all five crew members on board were killed when the aircraft went down "during a routine air refueling mission as part of military training."

The readiness to activate contingency plans for the evacuation of US nationals from Israel and Lebanon is the primary reason that a large number of US military transport aircraft have been transferred to Crete Air Base at Souda Bay in recent days.

Aircraft from the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Hellenic Air Force (HAF) conducted aerial refueling drills on June 20.

The Hellenic Air Force participated with 50 flights by F-16 fighter jets with two KC-135s of the 134 Refueling Wing of the USAF based with the 110 HAF Combat Wing at the Larissa military airport.

The Hellenic Armed Forces (HAF) participated on Wednesday in a military exercise organized by the French military, called "Anaximandre-23," in the Nicosia FIR. French air and naval units also took part in the exercise.

Iran said on Sept. 23 that a British-flagged oil tanker is "free" to leave more than two months after it was seized in the Gulf.

The United States and its allies are discussing plans to provide naval escorts for oil tankers through the Gulf, a top U.S. general said on July 11 after Iranian military vessels menaced a British tanker.

The United States wants to build an international military coalition to ensure the security of the waters in Iran and Yemen. This was announced by the head of the US Army Staff Chiefs General Joseph Dunford.

The aim is to ensure safer navigation in the area through which some of the most important maritime trade routes pass.

Iran dismissed as "baseless" on June 14 U.S. accusations that it carried out twin attacks that left two tankers ablaze in the Gulf of Oman, escalating tensions across the region and sending world oil prices soaring.

Suspected attacks left two tankers in flames in the waters of the Gulf of Oman on June 13, sending world oil prices soaring as Iran helped rescue stricken crew members.