Iran Guards say they have seized two ships with smuggled fuel in Gulf

IRGC naval units seized 250,000 liters of fuel smuggled on one of the ships and 130,000 liters on the other vessel.

A boat of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) sails, at undisclosed place off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran August 22, 2019. (photo credit: NAZANIN TABATABAEE/WANA VIA REUTERS)
A boat of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) sails, at undisclosed place off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran August 22, 2019.
(photo credit: NAZANIN TABATABAEE/WANA VIA REUTERS)

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Friday they had seized two vessels along the country's coast on the Gulf and the nearby Gulf of Oman for allegedly smuggling fuel.

Iran, which has some of the world’s cheapest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and the fall of its currency, has been fighting rampant fuel smuggling by land to neighboring states and by sea to Gulf Arab countries. It has frequently seized boats it says are being used for smuggling oil in the Gulf.

Revolutionary Guards naval units seized 250,000 liters of fuel smuggled on one of the ships and 130,000 liters on the other vessel, bringing the total of confiscated fuel in the past week to 650,000 liters, according to a statement posted on the Guards' official website.

IRGC siezes ship near Bu Musa Island, Iran (credit: Wikimedia Commons)
IRGC siezes ship near Bu Musa Island, Iran (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

The first ship's seven crew members have been detained, a Guards official told state TV earlier, adding that they included Iranians and foreigners, without giving further details.

Last week the Guards seized a foreign vessel carrying 220,000 liters of smuggled fuel in the Gulf and detained its crew of 11, Iranian media reported.