Iran seizes oil tanker in Gulf, arrests crew: Guards website

TEHRAN: Iran´s Revolutionary Guards have seized a Togo-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf and arrested its nine-person crew over alleged fuel smuggling, the military force said on Monday on its Sepahnews website.

“On Friday morning, an oil tanker named Pearl G, carrying the flag of the African country of Togo... was seized by judicial order,” said the Guards´ statement. The vessel is “owned by an Iraqi resident of Dubai, United Arab Emirates”, and it was carrying 700,000 litres of fuel, the statement added. The Guards´ naval forces captured it near the Arash oil field, a disputed rig between Iran and Kuwait “while loading smuggled fuel from Iranian barges”, it said.