TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has seized a foreign oil tanker transiting the strategic Strait of Hormuz, state media said Friday.
Mojtaba Ghahramani, the head of the province’s judiciary, said the tanker was carrying about 4 million liters, or 25,000 barrels, of smuggled fuel when Revolutionary Guard naval forces seized it, the Islamic Republic’s official news agency reported.
Police also detained 16 foreign crew members on the tanker, Gahramani said, adding that the seizure was a major “blow” to the smugglers. He did not reveal the nationality of the crew or the flag of the tanker.
Iran occasionally seizes oil-carrying ships in the region on similar charges. In November, Iran seized a ship transiting the narrow Strait of Hormuz, saying it had committed irregularities, including carrying illegal cargo.
The West blames Iran for a series of shell mine attacks on ships in 2019 that damaged tankers, and a drone attack on an Israeli-linked tanker in 2021 that killed two European crew members. The attacks began after U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers during his first term.
Iran also seized the Portuguese-flagged cargo ship MSC Aries in April 2024.
Years of tension between Iran and the West, coupled with the situation in Gaza, led to a 12-day all-out war between Iran and Israel in June, with Israeli air strikes killing senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. Iran’s retaliatory missile attack killed 28 people in Israel.
Tehran has long threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of oil trade passes. The U.S. Navy has long patrolled the Middle East through its Bahrain-based 5th Fleet to keep waterways open.