Islamic Revolutionary Gúard Corps during a ceremony to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the downing of Iran Air flight 655 by the US Navy. AFP
Islamic Revolutionary Gúard Corps during a ceremony to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the downing of Iran Air flight 655 by the US Navy. AFP
Islamic Revolutionary Gúard Corps during a ceremony to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the downing of Iran Air flight 655 by the US Navy. AFP
Islamic Revolutionary Gúard Corps during a ceremony to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the downing of Iran Air flight 655 by the US Navy. AFP

MENA

Iran

Iran seizes oil tanker and crew in Arabian Gulf

14 crew members were detained by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

The National

January 28, 2024

  • English
  • Arabic

Iran seized a foreign oil tanker it accused of transporting “smuggled fuel” and detained 14 crew members on Sunday, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized the unidentified vessel on Sunday morning, the outlet reported, and claimed it was carrying two million litres of smuggled diesel.

It was seized by court order 96km off the coast of Bandar-e-Bushehr. The crew on board “of Asian origin” were detained.

Tasnim said the ship was from Oceania, without providing any further detail.

It comes just weeks after the navy boarded a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker once at the centre of a dispute between Washington and Tehran.

Iran seized the ship in retaliation for a “violation committed by the Suez Rajan ship … and the theft of Iranian oil by the United States”, the Irna news agency reported.

Global shipping has been disrupted amid attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have vowed to continue attacks on ships it says are headed for Israel amid the war in Gaza. They have also pledged to attack British and American ships in retaliation for air strikes on Houthi positions.

China has reportedly asked Tehran to help stop the group's attacks on commercial ships passing through the Red Sea, Reuters reported last week.

Companies are now offering double pay to crew amid the crisis, which has resulted in a 42 per cent drop in shipping traffic through the Suez Canal.

In August, ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz were warned against straying into Iranian waters due to the “high risk” of seizure.

Iranian attacks have prompted the US to strengthen its naval presence in the region, deploying its first drone boats in the Strait of Hormuz in April.

War in Gaza - in pictures

Palestinian Muhammad Al Durra with his children in the ruins of a house in Rafah where they sheltered on January 11, 2024. EPA
Palestinian Muhammad Al Durra with his children in the ruins of a house in Rafah where they sheltered on January 11, 2024. EPA
Family and friends at the funerals of journalists Hamza Al Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya on January 7, 2024 in Rafah, Gaza. Getty Images
Family and friends at the funerals of journalists Hamza Al Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya on January 7, 2024 in Rafah, Gaza. Getty Images
Palestinians mourn relatives killed by Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip outside a mortuary in Khan Younis January 4, 2024. AP Photo
Palestinians mourn relatives killed by Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip outside a mortuary in Khan Younis January 4, 2024. AP Photo
Displaced Palestinians queue to bake bread at a camp in the Muwasi area of Rafah, Gaza Strip, on December 23, 2023. AP Photo
Displaced Palestinians queue to bake bread at a camp in the Muwasi area of Rafah, Gaza Strip, on December 23, 2023. AP Photo
Palestinians queue for food in Rafah, the Gaza Strip, on December 20, 2023. AP Photo
Palestinians queue for food in Rafah, the Gaza Strip, on December 20, 2023. AP Photo
The ruins of Rafah on December 14, 2023. AFP
The ruins of Rafah on December 14, 2023. AFP
Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip arrive at a hospital in Khan Younis on December 8, 2023. AP Photo
Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip arrive at a hospital in Khan Younis on December 8, 2023. AP Photo
Palestinians flee Israeli bombing along the Salaheddine Road in the Zeitoun district of Gaza city on November 28, 2023. AFP
Palestinians flee Israeli bombing along the Salaheddine Road in the Zeitoun district of Gaza city on November 28, 2023. AFP
A Red Cross vehicle takes Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip into Egypt in Rafah on November 25, 2023. AP
A Red Cross vehicle takes Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip into Egypt in Rafah on November 25, 2023. AP
The ruins of buildings in Gaza city on November 24, 2023, as a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas took effect. AP Photo
The ruins of buildings in Gaza city on November 24, 2023, as a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas took effect. AP Photo
A woman and her cat return home to eastern Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip during the first hours of a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas forces on November 24, 2023. AFP
A woman and her cat return home to eastern Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip during the first hours of a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas forces on November 24, 2023. AFP
Mourning the dead of Israeli bombardment outside the mortuary at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on November 14, 2023. AFP
Mourning the dead of Israeli bombardment outside the mortuary at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on November 14, 2023. AFP
Civilians and rescuers look for survivors in the rubble of a building after Israeli bombing of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 12, 2023. AFP
Civilians and rescuers look for survivors in the rubble of a building after Israeli bombing of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 12, 2023. AFP
November 7, 2023, a month to the day after Hamas attacked Israel, a victim of an Israeli bombardment in Rafah is moved from the rubble. AFP
November 7, 2023, a month to the day after Hamas attacked Israel, a victim of an Israeli bombardment in Rafah is moved from the rubble. AFP
Searching the rubble after Israeli air strikes on the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on October 26, 2023. AP Photo
Searching the rubble after Israeli air strikes on the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on October 26, 2023. AP Photo
Mourning the Kotz family at their funeral in Gan Yavne, Israel, on October 17, 2023. AP Photo
Mourning the Kotz family at their funeral in Gan Yavne, Israel, on October 17, 2023. AP Photo
An Israeli firefighter composes himself after he and his colleagues extinguished cars set on fire by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, on October 9, 2023. AP Photo
An Israeli firefighter composes himself after he and his colleagues extinguished cars set on fire by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, on October 9, 2023. AP Photo
Palestinians with the wreckage of an Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of the city of Khan Younis on October 7, 2023, the day Hamas forces swept unopposed into Israel. AP Photo
Palestinians with the wreckage of an Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of the city of Khan Younis on October 7, 2023, the day Hamas forces swept unopposed into Israel. AP Photo
Israeli police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, on October 7, 2023. AP Photo
Israeli police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, on October 7, 2023. AP Photo
Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

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The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

Updated: January 29, 2024, 3:00 PM`