Iran seizes 2 foreign oil tankers ahead of talks with US, 15 crew members in custody
Iran has seized two foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf for allegedly smuggling fuel. The tankers, carrying about 1 million litres of fuel, were taken to Bushehr with 15 crew members in custody.
IRAN seized two foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf on Thursday, alleging they were smuggling fuel, according to state television. The report did not specify the tankers’ nationalities or the flags they were flying, AP reported.
Gen. Heidar Honarian Mojarrad, a regional commander in the Revolutionary Guard’s navy, said the tankers were carrying around 1 million litres of fuel (approximately 6,300 barrels), including diesel. They were seized near Farsi Island and transferred to Bushehr, AP reported.
Fifteen crew members on board the two tankers are “in custody of judicial bodies,” he said, without providing their nationalities.
Iran occasionally confiscates oil tankers in the region on similar allegations.
In December, it seized a foreign tanker passing through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, detaining 16 crew members, and it had also seized another vessel in the strait in November.
Western nations have blamed Iran for a series of limpet mine attacks on tankers in 2019, as well as a 2021 drone strike on an Israeli-linked oil tanker that killed two European crew members. These attacks followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal during his first term.
The seizure comes the day before the US and Iran are expected to meet for highly-anticipated nuclear talks in the Omani capital of Muscat. Tensions between the countries remain high following Tehran's bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month.
