Iran seizes tanker with 900 tonnes of 'smuggled fuel'

Forces of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard have seized a tanker holding 900 metric tonnes of "smuggled fuel" and 12 crew members based on a court order, a report by the semi-official Fars news agency said.

"A vessel carrying 900 tonnes of smuggled fuel with 12 crew members was seized by the Revolutionary Guard's Navy patrol vessels in the Persian Gulf with a court order," Fars news reported from Iran's southern port of Bandar Abbas on Friday.

No further detail about the ship has been given.

Iran, which has some of the world's cheapest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and the plunge in the value of its national currency, has been fighting rampant fuel smuggling by land to neighbouring countries and by sea to Gulf Arab states.

British maritime security company Ambrey said on Thursday it was aware of an attempted seizure by Iranian forces of a small Tanzanian flagged tanker, around 59 nautical miles northeast of the Saudi Arabian port city of Dammam.

Thwarting Iranian Navy's attempt

Earlier, the US military has prevented Iranian warships from seizing two oil tankers near the coast of Oman, according to the United States Central Command (CENTCOM).

CENTCOM said in a statement that an Iranian ship opened fire in one of the incidents on Wednesday, adding both incidents occurred in international waters.

In one incident that took place at 1 am local time, an Iranian naval vessel approached the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker TRF Moss in the Gulf of Oman.

But CENTCOM said the situation de-escalated as the US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul (DDG 74) arrived, causing the Iranian vessel to depart.