Iran says it seized two vessels carrying 80,000 liters of smuggled fuel
Iranian authorities said they seized two vessels carrying 80,000 liters of smuggled fuel near the island of Kish in the Persian Gulf on Saturday.
Iranian authorities said they seized two vessels carrying 80,000 liters of smuggled fuel near the island of Kish in the Persian Gulf on Saturday.
Ali Salemizadeh, the prosecutor of Kish, said the boats were stopped under a judicial order as part of operations by a naval task force formed to combat fuel smuggling. He said the alleged smugglers had modified the structure of the boats and installed extra tanks on deck to move the fuel out of the country.
No details were given about the ownership, registration, or crew of the vessels, or about where they were headed.
Salemizadeh said authorities would continue to act firmly against fuel trafficking networks, which officials in Tehran say cause heavy losses to the state due to large price gaps with neighboring countries. Fuel smuggling is common in southern Iran, where heavily subsidized prices make it profitable to resell fuel abroad.
The announcement came amid a series of maritime enforcement operations by Iran in recent months. Earlier this month, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had seized a Marshall Islands–flagged tanker off the coast of Makran, confirming reports from maritime security firms that the ship had been diverted toward Iranian waters after being approached by small boats in the Gulf of Oman.
Iran says such seizures are carried out under judicial orders to prevent illegal fuel or cargo transfers. But Western officials and shipping sources say the country has often used maritime enforcement as leverage in regional and sanctions-related disputes.
Iran’s coast and the Strait of Hormuz are key routes for global oil shipments, and Tehran has increased patrols there as part of what it calls efforts to safeguard national interests and counter smuggling.
