Iran Seizes Another Saudi Fishing Vessel

Two weeks after the seizure of a Saudi fishing vessel in Iranian waters, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has detained another vessel from Saudi Arabia with five Indian crew members near Farsi Island in Bushehr Province. According to Fars News Agency, Majid Aghababayi, the Director General of Border Affairs at the Ministry of Interior, announced on Saturday, July 31, that the vessel was seized for 'trespassing into Iranian territorial waters' and its crew members have been arrested. This official stated that the vessel in question was seized on Thursday, July 29, although the public relations manager of the General Directorate of Fisheries in Bushehr Province claims it was seized on Friday. Iranian media had reported on July 16 that a Saudi fishing vessel that 'had entered Iranian waters' was seized by the IRGC's Second Naval Zone in Bushehr Province. The following day, the Director General of Border Affairs at the Iranian Ministry of Interior announced that four crew members detained on this vessel were Indian, and decisions regarding them would be made based on 'reciprocal behavior' by Saudi Arabia towards the detained Iranian sailors. About three weeks prior, Saudi border guards had fired on three Iranian fishing boats, resulting in the death of one fisherman. Saudi forces also detained three other crew members from these boats. However, the Saudi Ministry of Interior labeled the detainees as members of the IRGC, claiming they were approaching the country's Marjan oil platforms on an armed boat. Iran has denied these accusations. Following these reports, the newspaper 'Al-Riyadh' reported on July 4 that 'Saudi security agents arrested three more Iranians three days before the 'terrorist operation at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.' Aladdin Boroujerdi, the head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament, described this report as 'clumsy news-making' and 'media mischief.' Saudi Arabia also released five fishermen from Bushehr and Ganaveh who had been detained by its naval guards last year on July 8. Diplomatic relations between Tehran and Riyadh have been severed following the execution of a Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia and attacks on its diplomatic missions in Iran, with verbal clashes between the two countries escalating after U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to Riyadh. Iran and Saudi Arabia accuse each other of interfering in their internal affairs and in the region, accusations that are denied by the other side. On Thursday, July 29, local officials also reported that Qatari border guards had arrested three fishermen from Asalouyeh in Bushehr Province while they were fishing near the country's oil platforms. Iran and Qatar currently have good relations, and after several Arab countries closed their land and sea borders to Qatar, Iran has sent thousands of tons of food to the country through Bushehr Province.