Iran Seizes Oil Tanker in the Strait of Hormuz

The head of the justice department of Hormozgan province, Mojtaba Gahramani, stated that the tanker was carrying four million liters, or 25,000 barrels, of smuggled fuel when the ship was seized by the naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to the state news agency IRNA.

According to Gahramani, the military detained 16 foreign crew members. He also noted that the seizure of the vessel dealt a serious blow to the smugglers. However, neither the nationality of the crew nor the ownership of the tanker was disclosed.

Iran periodically seizes tankers in this region, accusing them of various violations. In November, Iran seized a vessel passing through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming it violated navigation rules, including carrying illegal cargo.

The U.S. Navy accused Iran of several mine attacks on vessels, resulting in damage to tankers in 2019, as well as a drone attack in 2021 on an Israel-linked oil tanker, which resulted in the deaths of two crew members from Europe. These attacks began after U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear agreement with Iran, reached in 2015 with world powers, during his first term. The last major seizure of vessels occurred in May 2022 when Iran detained two Greek tankers and held them until November of the same year.

These attacks intertwined with assaults by Iran-backed Houthis on vessels during the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Due to the attacks, shipping through the crucial Red Sea corridor sharply decreased.

Long-standing tensions between Iran and Western countries, combined with the conflict in Gaza, escalated into a full-scale 12-day war in June.

Iran has long threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz—a narrow passage in the Persian Gulf through which 20% of the world's oil is sold. The U.S. Navy has patrolled the Middle East for many years, using the Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet to ensure the waterway remains open.