By Al-Fassel | 2025-07-22

The Iranian regime's recent seizure of yet another foreign oil tanker in the Sea of Oman on fuel smuggling charges continues a pattern of vessel interceptions in strategic waterways that demonstrate its duplicitous enforcement tactics.

The vessel was intercepted "after legal documents related to its cargo were found to be incomplete," head of the judiciary in southern Hormozgan province Mojtaba Ghahremani said July 16, per the judiciary's Mizan News Agency.

The ship was carrying "two million liters of smuggled fuel," he said, adding that "17 suspects, including the captain and crew of the foreign tanker, have been taken into custody," without specifying their nationalities.

The tanker was discovered during routine "monitoring of suspicious fuel smuggling activities along Iran's maritime borders in the Sea of Oman," Iran's semi-official Mehr News Agency reported.

Photographs distributed by Iranian state media provide no clues about the vessel's identity or origin, and none of the crew are pictured.

The tanker appears to be a "small vessel," transporting roughly 12,600 barrels of oil, TradeWinds News noted, with the cargo a fraction of that of a fully loaded Suezmax tanker, which has capacity of about one million barrels.

Strategic pattern

The seizure follows the Iranian regime's established practice of citing maritime violations to justify tanker interceptions in critical global energy supply routes.

By intercepting vessels under the pretense of maritime law enforcement, the Iranian regime reinforces a dual messaging strategy, analysts say.

On one hand, the regime portrays itself to a domestic audience as a vigilant enforcer against illegal activities, while on the other, it signals its capacity to disrupt maritime operations in response to international geopolitical pressures.

In April, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intercepted two Tanzanian-flagged tankers allegedly smuggling 1.5 million liters of diesel.

The vessels, the Sea Ranger and Salama, were transferred to Bushehr port for legal proceedings, with their diesel cargo handed over to the National Iranian Oil Products Refining and Distribution Company, according to news reports.

In January 2024, Iran's navy seized the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker St. Nikolas (previously named Suez Rajan) in the Gulf of Oman.

The move was an Iranian retaliation after US authorities seized the tanker for violating sanctions on the sale of Iranian oil in April 2023 and confiscated and sold the cargo.