TEHRAN: Iranian naval forces have seized a foreign-registered ship they said was smuggling fuel in the Gulf and arrested its crew, state media reported on Saturday.
“A foreign vessel carrying 757,000 liters of smuggled fuel has been seized,” the state broadcaster’s website quoted a commander of the Revolutionary Guards maritime forces as saying.
“The seven crew members, who are foreign nationals, have been arrested and handed over to judicial authorities,” General Ramazan Zirahi added, without specifying their nationalities.
It is not known when the vessel was seized, or what flag it sailed under.
“The vessel, that intended to transport and deliver its cargo of fuel to other countries, was seized 60 miles off the coast of Iran,” Zirahi said, but did not say whether the cargo originated in the Islamic republic.
Iran has one of the cheapest petrol prices worldwide, which could make smuggling to other countries a lucrative business.
Zirahi noted that the ship was carrying “gasoline,” and said the fight against smuggling, “especially organized fuel smuggling, is one of the priorities of the IRGC’s naval forces to support national production and the dynamism of the economy.”
In recent months Iran has announced several operations targeting fuel smuggling in the Gulf, where a large amount of the world’s oil is produced and shipped.
Iran seizes ‘foreign’ fuel-smuggling ship, says state media
https://arab.news/vqhcv
Iran seizes ‘foreign’ fuel-smuggling ship, says state media
- It is not known when the vessel was seized, or what flag it sailed under
Iran missile barrage sparks explosions over Tel Aviv
- Two near-simultaneous waves of explosions reverberating across the city
- Israel’s emergency services confirms plenty of damage but said there were no casualties
TEL AVIV: The latest Iranian missile barrage sparked a wave of explosions across Tel Aviv as firefighters worked to contain a blaze at a residential building near Israel’s commercial hub on Friday.
The blasts came after Israel expanded its campaign against Hezbollah, vowing retribution against the Tehran-backed militant group for joining the conflict following the killing on Saturday of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran’s state broadcaster said Tehran had fired missiles “against targets in the heart of Tel Aviv,” after Israel’s military said it was working to intercept incoming Iranian fire late Thursday.
AFP journalists in Tel Aviv heard two near-simultaneous waves of explosions reverberating across the city.
Rocket trails also lit up the sky in Netanya, a city north of Tel Aviv on Israel’s Mediterranean coast.
After the barrage, Israel’s emergency services, the Magen David Adom (MDA), said its teams had visited several reported impact sites but that there were no casualties.
Israeli police said it was “currently handling scenes involving fallen projectiles in central Israel,” adding that there was “damage” but no injuries.
A projectile hit a building on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, forcing residents to evacuate.
At another residential site near Israel’s economic hub, firefighters worked to put out a blaze caused by falling debris after an Iranian rocket fire was intercepted.
Israel’s Home Front Command issues several rocket fire warnings early Friday for communities near the Lebanon border.
