Iran
An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) speedboat moves in the Persian Gulf while an oil tanker is seen in the background. Photo: Vahid Salemi/AP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian forces on Saturday seized a foreign vessel carrying hundreds of thousands of liters of smuggled fuel in the Persian Gulf and arrested those onboard.
“A foreign vessel carrying 757,000 liters of contraband fuel intended to transport it to other countries was seized,” the state’s broadcaster cited Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Ramazan Zirahi as saying.
Zirahi added that the ship’s crew, who all hold foreign nationality, were “arrested and handed over to the judicial authorities.”
The value of the seized fuel from the ship is estimated at 222 billion Iranian rials, or over 5 million USD, according to the IRGC commander.
The IRGC late last month seized an American sea drone and tried to tow it away, later releasing it after a US warship and helicopter approached the Iranian ship, according to the US Navy.
Iran also occasionally sees its vessels seized in waters surrounding the country.
In July, the UK Royal Navy announced the confiscation of Iranian weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, from boats in international waters south of Iran in early 2022. The weapons were likely bound for Yemen’s Houthis to fight against a coalition led by rivals Saudi Arabia.
The US in January also seized a vessel transiting from Iran in the Gulf of Oman carrying potential explosive materials. The ship was stopped along a route infamously used to smuggle weapons to the Houthi rebels.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment