Report: Iran has seized an Iraqi vessel in the Gulf
The Iraqi tanker Hita had 700,000 litres of illegal diesel on board, the information from Sunday night said. The fuel had been confiscated, an earlier report from Fars news agency said.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) had stopped the tanker on Wednesday evening off the island of Farsi in Bushehr province and arrested the seven crew members.
The fuel on board was going to be smuggled into the Gulf States, the report said.
IRGC troops are being increasingly used for operations against what they term oil and diesel smuggling in the Gulf.
News of the seizure comes after Tehran impounded the British-flagged Stena Impero and the Panama-flagged MT Riah in the Strait of Hormuz, causing a major flare-up in tensions with Britain and the United States.
The seizures were seen as retaliation for the July 4 capture off the British territory of Gibraltar by British Marines of the tanker Grace1, which was carrying Iranian oil allegedly to Syria in violation of EU sanctions.
The US has also blamed Iran for two attacks using explosives which damaged oil tankers in the Gulf in May and June. Tehran has denied the allegations.
The stand-off has prompted a discussion between the US, Britain and other nations on the possibility of creating an international mission to safeguard shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Bahrain is spearheading the effort to counter "Iran's repeated aggression" against shipping in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic route that passes between Iran and Oman.
The US has a major stake in the naval spat: It has launched a "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran in the wake of Washington's exit from the 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and the international community and has repeatedly accused Iran of military aggressions in the region.
Germany, one of the signatories to the 2015 deal, wishes to distance itself from US President Donald Trump's campaign against Iran, which is why it is unlikely Germany will participate in the mission in the Strait of Hormuz.
