TEHRAN - The naval forces of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) have seized two vessels carrying smuggled fuel off Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf waters.

Over one million liters of contraband fuel were confiscated from the vessels, and the 15 foreign crew members were handed over to judicial authorities to face trial.

The vessels had been trafficking in fuel for months before being identified and intercepted following monitoring and intelligence operations by the IRGC.

The seizure comes amid an intensified crackdown by the IRGC on fuel smuggling in southern waters, as authorities report a growing number of cases driven by the widening price gap between Iran’s heavily subsidized domestic fuel and higher prices in neighboring countries.

In December 2025, the IRGC seized a foreign tanker carrying millions of liters of smuggled fuel in the Persian Gulf, detaining its crew and transferring the vessel and its cargo to government ownership.

The tanker was intercepted inside Iran’s territorial waters while transporting around 4 million liters of smuggled fuel. 

In a similar operation in November the same year, IRGC forces seized an Eswatini-flagged vessel carrying 350,000 liters of smuggled fuel in the Persian Gulf.

Also in late 2025, Iranian border guards seized two large fishing vessels off the coast of Chabahar carrying a significant quantity of narcotics and smuggled fuel.