Iran's IRGC seizes foreign fuel ship in Gulf

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that it had seized a foreign ship "smuggling fuel" in the Gulf.

An undated picture made available by Iranian state television's English-language service, Press TV, on 18 July 2019, shows the Panamanian-flagged oil tanker MT Riah surrounded by Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessels in strait of Hormuz in Persian Gulf, Iran. Iran said on 18 July 2019, that its Revolutionary Guard seized a foreign oil tanker and its crew of 12 for smuggling fuel out of the country, the Riah, which had disappeared off trackers in Iranian territorial waters over the weekend. [Photo: IC]

The foreign vessel was carrying 1 million liter of "smuggled fuel" when seized by the IRGC naval forces to the south of Lark Island on July 14, according to an IRGC statement carried by the state TV.

The foreign ship, which has the capacity of carrying 2 million liters of fuel, received the smuggled fuel from Iranian boats and intended to deliver it to foreign buyers.

According to local reports, all 12 crew members of the ship were detained.