IRGC Navy seizes oil tanker near Makran coast over violations

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy has taken control of an oil tanker off the southern coast of Makran after receiving a judicial order.

According to a statement from the IRGC Navy’s public relations office on Saturday, its rapid reaction units started monitoring the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Talara at 7:30 a.m. on Friday. This came after a court instructed authorities to seize the vessel’s cargo.

The tanker was carrying 30,000 tons of petrochemical materials and was on its way to Singapore. The IRGC Navy guided the ship to an anchorage point for further investigation into its violations.

In the statement, the IRGC Navy said the “operation was carried out in line with legal duties and for the protection of the national interests and resources of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Officials added that the ship, its documents, and its cargo had been fully checked and found guilty of “carrying unauthorized cargo.”

US officials said on Friday that the Talara was traveling from Ajman in the United Arab Emirates to Singapore when IRGC forces stopped it. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center also confirmed the seizure, noting that the tanker had moved into Iranian territorial waters.

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