Iran seizes two foreign oil tankers in Persian Gulf

The tankers were intercepted in a maritime operation by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Second Naval District and are now being transferred to the port of Bushehr.

“The two tankers, with a total of 25 crew members, were systematically involved in fuel smuggling in the central waters of the Persian Gulf and were collectively carrying over three million liters of smuggled diesel fuel,” read a statement by the IRGC unit.

“These two tankers were systematically engaged in fuel smuggling and were identified through intelligence monitoring by IRGC naval forces,” the statement added. “They are now being moved to the Bushehr oil pier under judicial order for fuel confiscation.”

The IRGC regularly announces such seizures, citing efforts to combat fuel trafficking in the Gulf.

In April 2023, the Iranian Navy seized the Advantage Sweet, a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker, in the Gulf of Oman, alleging it had collided with an Iranian vessel.

Similarly, in January 2024, Iran seized the St. Nikolas (formerly known as Suez Rajan), another Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, in retaliation for the US confiscation of its oil cargo the previous year.

In 2019, the Revolutionary Guards seized the British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero in the same waterway for allegedly ramming a fishing boat and released it two months later.

Iran has frequently justified such actions by citing fuel smuggling, maritime violations or reciprocal measures.

Iran and the United States have traded barbs in recent years over a spate of incidents in the sensitive waters of the Persian Gulf, through which much of the world's energy supplies passes.