Shafaq News – Tehran

Iran has seized a vessel carrying about 4 million litres of smuggled fuel in Gulf waters, a senior commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday.

In a statement, Brigadier General Gholam Shahi, commander of the First Naval Zone of the IRGC, explained that the ship, which had 16 non-Iranian crew members on board, was intercepted while attempting to leave Iran’s territorial waters.

Legal action is under way against those involved, he added.

The seizure follows similar operations in recent months. In November, Iranian authorities said they had detained another vessel in the Persian Gulf carrying about 350,000 litres of smuggled fuel and flying the flag of Eswatini, along with its 13 crew members.

Iran has stepped up efforts to curb fuel smuggling in the Gulf, as subsidised Iranian oil products, mainly motor fuels, are illegally shipped to neighbouring states where prices are far higher, according to state-run Tasnim news agency.