Iran has seized a foreign oil tanker near the Iranian island of Qeshm in the Gulf, saying it was carrying 4 million litres of smuggled fuel, state media reported on Friday.
Authorities did not name the vessel or disclose its nationality © Mena Today
Iran has seized a foreign oil tanker near the Iranian island of Qeshm in the Gulf, saying it was carrying 4 million litres of smuggled fuel, state media reported on Friday.
Authorities did not name the vessel or disclose its nationality. They said 16 foreign crew members had been detained on criminal charges. State TV said the tanker was seized on Wednesday.
Iranian news websites published video footage and photographs of what they said was the seized tanker.
Iran said last week it had seized another foreign tanker carrying 6 million litres of what it described as smuggled diesel in the Gulf of Oman without identifying the vessel or its nationality.
Iran, which has some of the world's lowest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and a sharp fall in the value of its national currency, has been seeking to curb widespread fuel smuggling by land to neighbouring countries and by sea to Gulf states.
Editing by Joe Bavier
A proposed deal between Iran and Oman would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters on Wednesday, in one of the biggest concessions yet to Iran.
The U.S. Treasury said on Wednesday it had removed counter-terrorism sanctions from Iraq's Fly Baghdad Airlines and two aircraft that were imposed in 2024 over links to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, citing changes in the airline's behavior.
Qatar said mediators were making progress in efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war on Tuesday, driving oil prices lower, although Tehran has denied President Donald Trump's assertion that talks are already under way.
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