Iranian state media said on Friday that two oil tankers that were purportedly transporting gasoline smuggling in the Gulf had been captured and their crews detained.
According to Iranian media, Adm. Mohammad-Sharif Shirali, deputy commander of the IRGC Navy's Third Naval Zone, the tankers flying the colours of Tanzania and Panama were being held by the IRGC Navy.
"The Revolutionary Guards naval forces seized two ships over the course of the last two days," the deputy commander stated. "The seized tankers... flying the flags of Panama and Tanzania were transporting more than 1.5 million litres (400,000 gallons) of Iranian oil and gas," he added.
He also added during the press conference on state television that the 37 crew members of the two vessels had been turned over to the appropriate legal authorities for the required legal processes.
The official described the operation in detail, stating that the two foreign oil rankers had been under the strict observation of the IRGC Navy stationed at Mahshahr Port in southern Khuzestan province for the previous two days before being apprehended on court orders.
Iranian navy authorities in the Persian Gulf have impounded foreign-flagged ships on more than a few occasions on the same suspicion of smuggling fuel or breaking maritime laws.
One of the cases was the Bahamas-flagged oil tanker Richmond Voyager, which was impounded in July after it reportedly collided with an Iranian ship in the southern Hormozgan province Sea of Oman.
The IRGC Navy last month published a video of an incident between two of its speedboats and a US helicopter carrier in the Strait of Hormuz amid rising tensions.
In the Persian Gulf, the IRGC hauled away an unmanned US warship, claiming that this was done to "ensure the safety of shipping lanes." It was done exactly a year before.
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