TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran seized a foreign oil tanker sailing through the Strait of Hormuz, state media reported Friday.

Mojtaba Ghahramani, head of the provincial justice department, said the ship was carrying about four million liters, or 25,000 barrels, of smuggled fuel when Revolutionary Guard naval forces seized the vessel, the official news agency reported. IRNA.

He added that they also detained 16 foreign crew members, ensuring that it was a notable “coup” for the smugglers. He did not reveal the nationality of the crew members or the flag of the ship.

Iran occasionally seizes vessels that transport oil in the region on similar charges. Last month it confiscated a ship sailing through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, claiming it had committed violations, including transporting illegal cargo.

The West has blamed Iran for a series of limpet mine attacks on ships, which damaged oil tankers in 2019, as well as a drone attack on a linked vessel that claimed the lives of two European crew members in 2021. Those attacks began after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers during his first term.

Iran also seized the Portuguese-flagged cargo ship MSC Aries in April 2024.

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After several years of tensions between Iran and the West, coupled with the situation in the Gaza Strip, Iran fought a 12-day full-scale war with Israel in June, whose attacks killed senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. Iran's missile response killed 28 people in Israel.

Tehran has long threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all traded oil passes. The US Navy has long patrolled the Middle East through its Bahrain-based 5th Fleet to keep waterways open.

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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.