On April 23, 2025, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seized two Tanzania-flagged vessels near Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf.
The ships were attempting to leave Iranian waters while allegedly smuggling 1.5 million liters of diesel fuel, valued at approximately 700 billion rials (about $875,000 to $1.3 million, depending on exchange rates). According to Iranian officials, the ships carried 25 foreign crew members and were transported to the Port of Bushehr for legal processing.
The confiscated fuel will be turned over to the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company.
In early April 2025, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seized a third oil tanker within just over a week in the Persian Gulf, intensifying its crackdown on fuel smuggling operations. This series of detentions underscores Tehran’s efforts to curb illicit oil trade, which often involves unauthorized transfers and falsified documentation.
Meanwhile, on 16 April, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned a China-based independent “teapot” refinery for its role in purchasing more than a billion dollars’ worth of Iranian crude oil.
