IRGC Seizes UAE-Managed Oil Tanker

The British security company Ambrey reported that an oil tanker managed by the United Arab Emirates was seized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the waters southwest of Bushehr port. On Monday, July 23, Ambrey reported that the vessel, flying the Togolese flag, was carrying 1,500 tons of marine gas oil. Shortly after, the IRGC confirmed that it had seized a Togolese-flagged tanker due to "fuel smuggling" and transferred it to Bushehr port. In a statement from the IRGC's Second Naval Region, it was claimed that this tanker was carrying "over 1.5 million liters of smuggled oil" and was taken to "Bushehr Anchorage" along with its 12 crew members, who are Indian and Sri Lankan. According to Ambrey's report, this tanker had loaded its cargo on the shores of Iraq and was en route to Sharjah in the UAE. The report adds that the seizure occurred on Sunday, 61 nautical miles southwest of Bushehr port in Iran. No further information has been provided regarding the fate of the seized tanker. Ambrey added that it is unlikely this incident had a political motive and is not assessed as a "military" event. According to the company, this interception was likely part of an anti-smuggling operation by the IRGC, as the "commercial behavior of the vessel matched the specifications of previous IRGC targets." Iranian media have reported extensively in recent years on the Islamic Republic's efforts to combat fuel smuggling to neighboring countries. Fuel in Iran is cheaper than in neighboring countries due to government subsidies, and the Islamic Republic considers the buying and selling of fuel outside the government system as smuggling and takes action against it. Last February, the IRGC reported that it had seized a foreign vessel carrying 2 million liters of "smuggled" diesel near Bushehr port. On December 6 of last year, the IRGC also announced that it had seized two vessels with a total of 34 foreign crew members for allegedly smuggling over 4.5 million liters of fuel in the Persian Gulf. No information was released regarding the nationalities of the foreign crew members of these two vessels or their owning countries. Due to the depreciation of the Iranian national currency, the price of oil and its derivatives has become cheaper in Iran than in neighboring countries, which has fueled an increase in oil smuggling from Iran by land and sea to other countries. However, securing fuel at the current prices remains difficult for the Iranian people, and any increase in fuel prices in Iran sparks public discontent. Previously, in 2019, the Islamic Republic violently suppressed protests that erupted due to rising fuel prices, reportedly killing around 1,500 protesters.