Iranian Navy
Iranian Revolutionary Guard seizes two oil tankers in Gulf
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The Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, that it had seized two oil tankers in the Gulf, detaining their foreign crews on charges of fuel smuggling.
The move comes amid rising regional tensions and recent US naval activity near Iranian waters.
Over one million liters of diesel confiscated
According to General Heydar Honarian-Mojarrad, commander of the Guard’s second naval district, the vessels were intercepted near Eghtedar Island under a court order.
Authorities confiscated more than one million liters of smuggled diesel, which was handed over to Iran’s National Oil Products Distribution Company after the tankers were transferred to the port city of Bushehr.
Foreign crews face legal action
Fifteen sailors, all holding foreign nationalities, were taken into custody and handed over to judicial authorities to face legal proceedings.
The incident highlights the ongoing sensitivity of Gulf waterways, particularly amid Iran’s continued crackdown on what it describes as “energy smuggling networks.”
