Iran Announces Seizure of Foreign Ship in the Gulf

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on Saturday the confiscation of a foreign ship in the Gulf that was smuggling fuel and the detention of its crew. Colonel Ahmad Hajjian of the Revolutionary Guard stated, according to the official television's website: "Thanks to our intelligence capabilities and a coordinated operation, our naval forces seized a foreign ship with a crew of 11 people in our territorial waters." The date of the operation, the flag flown by the ship, and the nationality of the crew were not specified. He added, "After inspection, more than 150,000 liters of smuggled diesel were seized, and the eleven foreign crew members were presented before the court." This seizure follows a series of attacks on commercial vessels in the Gulf waters, through which a large portion of the world's oil production is extracted and transported.