Dubai
Iran has seized another foreign oil tanker in the Arabian Gulf and detained the ship’s seven crew members, state media reported. The capture is the third such seizure in a month amid heightened tensions with the United States and its Arab allies.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “seized this ship around Farsi Island which was carrying around 700,000 liters of smuggled fuel,” said a Guards statement quoted by the official news agency IRNA.
Seven foreign crew were arrested in the operation carried out on Wednesday night, said Fars news agency. Tensions between Iran and the US have soared this year after Washington stepped up its campaign of “maximum pressure” against Tehran.
Ships have been attacked, drones downed and oil tankers seized since May, a year after the United States withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and began reimposing biting sanctions against the country. — Reuters
