The Middle East Eye:

Iran has detained 18 crew members of a foreign tanker seized in the Gulf of Oman on Friday, claiming it was carrying smuggled fuel.

Iranian media reported on Saturday that those detained under the ongoing investigation include the captain of the tanker, which they said was carrying 6m litres of smuggled fuel.

The semi-official news agency Fars said the crew were from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and had committed multiple violations, including "ignoring stop orders, attempting to flee, (and) lacking navigation and cargo documentation".

Iran regularly announces the interception of ships in the Gulf it says are illegally transporting fuel.

Friday's interception also came two days after the US seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a close ally of Iran.

The US claimed the ship's captain was transporting oil from Venezuela and Iran.

 

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