Shafaq News – Tehran

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) captured the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Talara in the Gulf of Oman on November 14, the force announced on Saturday.

In a statement, the IRGC said its naval units boarded the Singapore-bound vessel under a judicial order, noting that the tanker was carrying 30,000 tons of petrochemical products and is now undergoing cargo checks, ship inspections, and document verification.

In a post on X, US Naval Forces Central Command (US 5th Fleet) said it was aware of the incident and was monitoring developments.

The interception marks Iran’s first tanker seizure in the Strait of Hormuz region in more than a year, following previous interdictions including the July 2024 capture of a Togo-flagged vessel over alleged fuel smuggling and a helicopter raid on a Portuguese-flagged tanker linked to an Israeli businessman earlier that year.

The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most strategic waterways, carrying about 20% of global oil shipments and a third of global LNG exports.