The Iranian regime’s IRGC has seized two vessels with 34 foreign crew members in the Persian Gulf on charges of “fuel smuggling.” The IRGC announced the seizure of the ships on December 6.
According to the regime’s news agencies, citing Ali Ozmayee, the commander of the fifth naval zone of the IRGC, one of these ships, with 13 foreign crew members, was smuggling 2.28 million liters of fuel and was seized near Abu Musa Island in the south.
He added that the other ship, with 21 foreign crew members, was carrying 2.3 million liters of smuggled fuel and was confiscated by IRGC forces.
No information was provided about the nationality of the foreign sailors or the countries to which the ships belonged.
This is not the first time the IRGC seizes foreign ships in the Persian Gulf. The United States announced earlier this summer that Iran had “attacked, harassed, or detained over 20 ships in the Persian Gulf” in the past two years.
In one such incident on July 7th, the IRGC claimed to have detained a vessel with 12 foreign crew members carrying 900 tons of smuggled fuel.
The IRGC had previously attempted to seize two foreign oil tankers in the south waters of Iran, but the attempt was intercepted by the US Navy.
The IRGC claims that these actions are taken with a “judicial order” to prevent cheap fuel from leaving the country and being smuggled to other regional countries.
In addition to the IRGC, the Iranian Army’s Navy also detained a foreign oil tanker, the “Advantage” of Switzerland, in May, claiming that it had collided with an Iranian boat.
John Kirby, the Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, called on Tehran to put an end to the continued detention of foreign ships in the Persian Gulf by Iranian military forces.
Mr. Kirby emphasized in a July 20 interview that no one wants a military confrontation in the Persian Gulf region.
