Iran detained two foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf on Thursday, saying they were smuggling fuel, state television reported. The report did not specify the nationality of the tankers or the flag they fly, AP said.
Gene. Heidar Honarian Mojarrad, regional commander of the Revolutionary Guards Navy, said the tankers were carrying around 1 million liters of fuel (approximately 6,300 barrels), including diesel. They were detained near Farsi Island and taken to Bushehr, AP reported.
Fifteen crew members aboard the two tankers are “in the custody of judicial authorities,” he said, without specifying their nationalities.
Iran occasionally seizes oil tankers in the region over similar allegations.
In December, it seized a foreign tanker transiting the strategic Strait of Hormuz, detaining 16 crew members, and also seized another vessel in the strait in November.
Western nations blame Iran for a series of attacks on tankers in 2019, as well as a drone attack on an oil tanker linked to Israel in 2021 that killed two European crew members. The attacks followed US President Donald Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal during his first term in office.
The seizure comes a day before the US and Iran are expected to meet for highly anticipated nuclear talks in the Omani capital of Muscat. Tensions between the countries remain high after Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month.
