Iran Seizes Foreign Tanker, Arrests 17 Crew Over Fuel Smuggling

Iranian security forces have intercepted a foreign-flagged tanker in the Gulf, accusing it of smuggling millions of litres of fuel, and have detained all 17 crew members on board.

According to reports, the vessel — identified as Phoenix and flying the flag of a third country — was stopped by police border guards in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province while sailing in Iranian territorial waters.

Authorities allege the ship was carrying “more than two million litres of smuggled fuel” when it was seized. All 17 suspects aboard, described as foreign nationals, were taken into custody.

Fuel smuggling remains a persistent problem for Iran, where government subsidies have kept local prices among the lowest in the world, making the trade highly lucrative. Iranian forces frequently intercept ships accused of illicit fuel transport in the Gulf and surrounding waters.

In a similar incident last month, Iranian authorities detained another foreign tanker in the Sea of Oman, also suspected of carrying two million litres of smuggled fuel.