Iran's IRGC seizes two foreign tankers carrying ‘smuggled diesel'
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has seized two foreign vessels carrying 'smuggled' fuel in the Gulf, local media said on Tuesday.
The IRGC 'seized two Tanzanian-flagged vessels carrying 1.5 million liters of smuggled diesel fuel,' said Iranian news agency Fars.
Iranian forces regularly target tankers they say are illegally transporting fuel in the Gulf.
'The vessels, Sea Ranger and Salama, had 25 foreign crew members,' said Fars, without elaborating on their fate.
It added that the vessels 'were transferred to the port of Bushehr,' in Iran's southwest, 'for legal procedures.'
Iran, a major oil producer, has among the cheapest petrol prices in the world, which encourages fuel trafficking.
In May, Iran released seven crew members from a Portuguese-flagged container ship, seized on April 13, after accusing them of links to its arch-foe Israel.
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