TEHRAN – The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) detained an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf on Friday, continuing its crackdown on smuggling activities in the region.

According to a statement from IRGC’s third naval zone’s public relations office, the oil tanker was detained near the Arash gas field and transferred to Imam Khomeini port. The tanker’s nine crew members have also been moved to the port. 

 “On the morning of Friday, July 26, a tanker named "Pearl G," flying the flag of Togo and owned by an Iraqi individual residing in Dubai, was seized under judicial order while it was in the process of loading smuggled fuel from Iranian vessels,” the statement said, adding that the tanker was to carry away 700,000 barrels of smuggled oil.

Iran's anti-smuggling operations in the Persian Gulf have increased in recent months. On July 22, the IRGC seized another Togo-flagged oil tanker carrying 1.5 million liters of smuggled oil. The tanker, owned by British company Ambrey, was traveling from Iraq to Sharjah, UAE. A foreign tanker carrying two million liters of smuggled fuel was also confiscated in Iran’s southern waters late in January.