State TV reports Iranian seizure of oil tanker

Iranian state TV reported on Thursday that Revolutionary Guard forces have seized a foreign oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, according to The Associated Press.

The state outlet did not identify the ship or its crew’s nationality, saying only that it was intercepted Sunday smuggling about 264,000 gallons of oil and that 12 foreign crew members were aboard, the AP noted.

{mosads}The Panamanian-flagged MT Riah reportedly stopped transmitting its location Sunday near Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran said it seized the ship south of Larak Island, a smaller Iranian island just south of Qeshm, according to the AP. The seizure was likely part of a broader crackdown by the Revolutionary Guard on oil smuggling rather than targeting any specific country, the news service added.

The Riah regularly departed from the United Arab Emirates, which has been both calling for a de-escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran and simultaneously lobbying for tougher U.S. sanctions, the AP noted.

Last week, the Revolutionary Guard and the British navy engaged in a brief standoff, with the British government saying Revolutionary Guard vessels attempted to block the passage of the British oil tanker HMS Montrose. Iran has denied the claim, saying it would have seized the ship if ordered.

The new report follows several months of tension between the U.S. and Iran, which culminated in a canceled retaliatory strike against Iran after Tehran downed a U.S. drone it claimed entered Iranian airspace.

Iran has also begun to walk back some of its commitments under the 2015 nuclear pact, which the U.S. withdrew from over a year ago.