Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) says it has seized a ship in the Persian Gulf, accusing it of smuggling diesel fuel to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.).
An IRGC commander said on September 16 that the vessel was carrying 250,000 liters of fuel when it was detained near Iran's Greater Tunb island, according to official media.
The ship was sailing from Bandar Lengeh toward U.A.E. waters, Brigadier General Ali Ozmayi was quoted as saying.
The vessel's 11 crew members have been detained, Ozmayi added, without saying when it happened or giving their nationality.
The crew has been handed over to legal authorities in the southern Hormozgan Province, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.
The reported seizure coincides with heightened international tensions in the Persian Gulf, a strategic conduit for global oil and gas deliveries from the Middle East, following a weekend drone attack on a major oil installation in Saudi Arabia.