IRGC Claims Seizure of Foreign Vessel and Arrest of '14 Crew Members'

On Sunday, February 8, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have seized a foreign vessel "flying the flag of a country from Oceania" that was carrying "2 million liters of smuggled diesel." According to Haidar Heniaran Mojarad, commander of the IRGC's Second Naval Zone, the vessel was stopped "60 miles off the coast of Bushehr port" in the Persian Gulf, and all "14 foreign crew members from two Asian countries" were arrested. He refrained from mentioning the country of the vessel's ownership or the nationality of its crew. This IRGC commander added that the cargo of the vessel is "being delivered to the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company in Bushehr province by legal order." The IRGC Navy had also announced in mid-December that it had seized two ships on charges of carrying "smuggled fuel" with an approximate volume of "4.5 million liters" south of Abu Musa Island in the Persian Gulf. Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic itself has been repeatedly accused of crude oil smuggling and violating U.S. and international sanctions. According to U.S. military officials, the Islamic Republic of Iran has conducted operations to seize at least about 20 vessels flying international flags in the waters of the Persian Gulf over the past two years. The IRGC's new adventure in the Persian Gulf comes at a time when attacks by Houthi forces affiliated with the Islamic Republic on international vessels passing through the Red Sea have led to unprecedented tensions in the region, prompting the U.S. and Britain to carry out military strikes against their positions in Yemen. Previously, the provocative actions of the Islamic Republic's naval forces in attacking foreign commercial vessels, including seizing ships, caused Iran to lose its hosting of the World Maritime Day ceremony. The fire on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden has been extinguished. The U.S. has once again urged China to persuade the Islamic Republic to reduce Houthi attacks. The continuation of Houthi attacks on ships; reports of two missiles exploding near the port of Aden. CENTCOM: An American destroyer shot down missiles from Houthis supported by the Islamic Republic. The U.S. and Britain have once again attacked "Houthi targets" in Yemen. CENTCOM has ended the "search and rescue operations" for missing American sailors. Reuters: The Islamic Republic and Hezbollah are assisting Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. The Houthis promised maritime security in the Red Sea to Russia and China.