Iran seizes oil tanker in Gulf of Oman: Iranian media

AFP/APP

Tehran: Iran has seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, Iranian media reported overnight from Friday to Saturday, saying that 18 crew members from India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh were on board.

“An oil tanker carrying six million litres of contraband diesel fuel has been boarded off the coast of the Sea of Oman,” the Fars news agency quoted an official from the southern province of Hormozgan as saying. The official added that the vessel had disabled all its navigation systems.

Iranian forces regularly announce the interception of ships they claim are illegally transporting fuel in the Gulf. Retail fuel prices in Iran are among the lowest in the world, making smuggling to other countries particularly profitable.

Last month, Iran seized another oil tanker in Gulf waters for carrying an “unauthorised cargo,” dismissing suggestions that the move was retaliatory.

The latest interception came two days after the United States seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. According to Washington, the ship’s captain was transporting oil from Venezuela and Iran. The US Treasury sanctioned Venezuela in 2022 over alleged ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah.