Iran seizes foreign oil tanker, it claims of smuggling fuel in Gulf

Iran said on Thursday that it has seized an oil tanker it claimed was carrying 1 million liters of "smuggled fuel," state news agency Press TV.

The semi-official Fars news agency said Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces ambushed the tanker, carrying 12 people on board, on Sunday.

It is unclear whether the tanker that Iran said it had seized is the same vessel as the one that Tehran claimed to have assisted earlier this week.

The IRGC have denied seizing any other tankers, Fars said Thursday.

The IRGC said it had initially responded to distress calls from a ship on Sunday but when they searched it, they discovered it was a smuggling operation, according to Iranian state media.

Citing an IRGC statement, Fars reported that the ship -- which has a capacity of 2 million liters -- is a foreign tanker and was seized in an area south of Larak, a small island in the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil prices rose after news of the seizure amid rising tensions between Tehran and the West over the safety of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital gateway for energy exports.

Brent crude futures were up 54 cents at $64.20 a barrel by 1230 GMT after hitting a session high of $64.46.

In a statement on Thursday, a US State Department official said the US "strongly condemns the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy's continued harassment of vessels and interference with safe passage in and around the Strait of Hormuz."

"Iran must cease this illicit activity and release the reportedly seized crew and vessel immediately," they said, adding that the US will "continue to work closely with our allies and partners to ensure the Iranian regime's extortion tactics and malign activities do not further disrupt maritime security and global commerce."

In another incident last week, armed Iranian boats tried unsuccessfully to impede the passage of a British oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, according to two US officials with direct knowledge of the incident.

In June, tensions between the US and Iran escalated into a military standoff after an American drone was shot down by Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most vital shipping routes.