Todd Bishop
Reuters reported on August 4 that Lebanese Square TV station quoted the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as saying that Iran seized a foreign tanker in the Persian Gulf and accused the other party of smuggling fuel into some Arab countries.
Iran’s Press TV quoted Iranian Revolutionary Guards Commander Ramezan Zirahi as saying: “The Revolutionary Guards Navy has detained a foreign tanker in the Persian Gulf. It is smuggling fuel into some Arab countries. It carries 700,000. Litre fuel. Seven sailors from different countries on the tanker have been detained.”
This is followed by Iran’s seizure of the British tanker Stena Impero on July 19, and the foreign tanker was detained by Iran. Another oil tanker operated by the United Kingdom, Mesdar, was released on the same day after being detained on the same day.
On July 4th, the United Kingdom detained Iranian tanker Grace 1 in its overseas territorial Gibraltar, saying it violated EU sanctions and shipped fuel to Syria. Iran has repeatedly asked for release without fruit, threatening to respond by detaining ships.
