• Iran, British oil tanker Stena Empire stopped for retaliation. The dramatic video of the capture
  • Hormuz, Iran kidnaps a British tanker. The US deploys soldiers in Saudi Arabia
  • Iranian Pasdaran kidnap a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz

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August 04, 2019The Iranian Revolutionary Naval forces of the Iranian Revolution "seized a foreign oil tanker that smuggled oil for some Arab countries in the Gulf." The media reported in Tehran, according to the BBC. The tanker was carrying 700,000 liters of oil. Seven sailors are now under arrest.

According to the Iranian Fars news agency, the seizure of the oil tanker took place on 31 July. The tanker, said the commander of the Guardians of the Revolution, Ramezan Zirahi, was attempting to transport the 700 thousand liters of oil he had on board in the Arab countries of the Gulf.

The seven sailors belong to various nationalities.

Initially the nationality of the oil tanker was attributed to Iraq, but the Iraqi oil minister denied it. According to the Iranian state news agency IRNA, citing a declaration of the Guardians of the Revolution, the ship was blocked because it would have tried to smuggle Iranian crude.

On July 19, Iran seized a British tanker, the Stena Empire, in the Strait of Hormuz. A second tanker with a Panamanian flag, also stopped for checks, was instead allowed to continue sailing. The Stena Empire and its 23 sailors of various nationalities are still under the control of the Tehran authorities. The action was considered a retaliation for the kidnapping by the British of an Iranian oil tanker off the coast of Gibraltar. The tanker was suspected of transporting oil to Syria, contravening the sanctions imposed by the UN.