Iran's Revolutionary Guards Say They Seized Tanker With Smuggled Fuel In Persian Gulf

Iranian authorities have been fighting rampant fuel smuggling in the Persian Gulf. (file photo)

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said on April 15 that they had seized a foreign ship in Persian Gulf waters loaded with what they described as smuggled diesel, the government news agency IRNA reported.

The ship's seven crew have been detained, IRNA said, quoting a public relations official for the guards.

It wasn’t clear when the ship was seized. Its origin and the nationality of the crew was also not clear.

Iran, which has some of the world’s cheapest fuel prices due to heavy state subsidies and the fall of its currency, has been fighting rampant fuel smuggling.

Last week, Iran announced its seizure of a foreign boat carrying over 220,000 liters of smuggled fuel and the arrest of its 11 crew members, without giving further details.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP