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Iran says seized tanker was smuggling oil

Tensions in the Persian Gulf have increased once again after Iran claimed the ship it seized was smuggling oil.
Military units of the IRGC Ground Force are seen on boats as they launched war games in the Gulf, December 22, 2018. Hamed Malekpour/Tasnim News Agency via REUTERS   ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1B345C1BC0

Iranian state TV reported July 18 that according to a statement released by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval force, a foreign ship carrying one million liters of smuggled oil was confiscated south of Larak Island near the Strait of Hormuz. According to the IRGC, Iranian ships were on patrol for “organized smugglers” when they came across the tanker and took action “after becoming certain it was smuggling oil through a foreign ship.”

The IRGC statement read that 12 individuals were apprehended and that the seized tanker had the capacity to carry two million liters of oil. 

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