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IRGC Seizes Oil Tanker Over Alleged Fuel Smuggling

An oil tanker seized by Iran. Photo: IRNA news agency
An oil tanker seized by Iran. Photo: IRNA news agency
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IRGC Seizes Oil Tanker Over Alleged Fuel Smuggling

An oil tanker seized by Iran. Photo: IRNA news agency
An oil tanker seized by Iran. Photo: IRNA news agency

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps announced it has seized a Togo-flagged oil tanker carrying more than 700,000 liters of fuel in the Gulf, the second such seizure in less than a week.

In a statement, the IRGC said the Togo-flagged “Pearl G” tanker with its nine crew members, who have Indian nationality, was seized by the forces of its Navy's third region on Friday morning following a judicial order.

“Pearl G, which is owned by an Iraqi national residing in the UAE, was offloading smuggled oil from Iranian vessels,” Tasnim reported, adding the vessel had been moved to the port of Bandar Imam Khomeini.

Last week, the IRGC seized another Togo-flagged tanker carrying 1,500 tons of marine gas oil.

British security firm Ambrey said last Monday the vessel had loaded marine gas oil off the coast of Iraq and was destined for UAE's Sharjah when it was intercepted on Sunday, 61 nautical miles southwest of Iran's port of Bushehr.

The Navy confirmed seizure in a statement quoted by Iran's state news agency, saying: “The tanker was systematically engaged in fuel smuggling ... and was seized in the depths of Bushehr's coast by judicial order.”

“The vessel, along with its 12 crew members of Indian and Sri Lankan nationals, has been transferred to Bushehr anchorage and is under supervision,” it added.

Iran, which has some of the world's cheapest fuel due to subsidies and the plunge in the value of its currency, has been fighting rampant smuggling by land to neighboring countries and by sea to other states.

Ambrey said the incident had no political motives but was likely a counter-smuggling operation.

In late January, Iran seized a vessel with the flag of a country from Oceania carrying two million liters of allegedly smuggled fuel.
In May, Iran released seven crew members from a Portuguese-flagged container ship, seized on April 13, after accusing them of links to its arch-foe Israel.
Fuel prices in Iran are among the lowest globally, increasing the profitability of smuggling operations.

But experts previously said that Iran's circumvention of oil sanctions is among the main reasons for the worsening phenomenon of fuel smuggling.

Iran’s Nour News Agency said last December that fuel smuggling was estimated at 20 million liters per day, equivalent to $5 billion.

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Grossi Urges Iran to Reach an Understanding with Trump

21 January 2025, Switzerland, Davos: Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi speaks at "Road to Tripling Nuclear Capacity session" during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. (Valeriano Di Domenico/World Economic Forum/dpa)
21 January 2025, Switzerland, Davos: Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi speaks at "Road to Tripling Nuclear Capacity session" during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. (Valeriano Di Domenico/World Economic Forum/dpa)
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Grossi Urges Iran to Reach an Understanding with Trump

21 January 2025, Switzerland, Davos: Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi speaks at "Road to Tripling Nuclear Capacity session" during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. (Valeriano Di Domenico/World Economic Forum/dpa)
21 January 2025, Switzerland, Davos: Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi speaks at "Road to Tripling Nuclear Capacity session" during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. (Valeriano Di Domenico/World Economic Forum/dpa)

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) urged on Tuesday Iran to reach an understanding over its atomic activity with the administration of US President Donald Trump in order to avoid being dragged into another military conflict in the Middle East.

UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said that Iran has accelerated its enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% level that is weapons grade.

He spoke about Trump’s decision six-and-a-half years ago to quit the 2015 nuclear deal that gave Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for strict limits on its nuclear activities.

“There was an agreement that existed before President Trump decided that was not the path he wanted to follow,” Grossi said at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “Now we need to come to terms with how we deal with this, excluding of course, a war. We don’t want more wars.”

He confirmed Iran continues to produce large quantities of highly-enriched uranium. In December, Tehran’s engineers increased capacity sevenfold, to about 34 kilograms a month in response to a diplomatic censure in November.

Iran ready for more talks

Meanwhile, Iran threw the ball into the West’s court, declaring its readiness to revive negotiations on its advanced nuclear program.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Tuesday his country wants to pursue discussions with European nations (France, Germany and the UK) after both sides held a third round of talks in Geneva last week.

“We agreed to continue discussions. We will determine the date and time for them through joint consultations,” he said.

Both Iran and the so-called E3 countries had described previous talks as “frank and constructive.” Iran said the third round, which started last September in New York, aimed at exploring how Tehran can return to the negotiations table.

Gharibabadi said: “The most logical path forward is to initiate talks on lifting sanctions.”

Speaking to reporters, he reiterated Iran's willingness to engage in diplomacy. The country, as always, is ready to initiate and resume negotiations aimed at lifting sanctions, he said.

“We have consistently been prepared, and if the other parties demonstrate the same readiness, we are confident that talks can proceed and yield positive results,” he said, according to the state-owned Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA).

He underscored the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program, adding that “there are proper opportunities for dialogue and understanding” and noting that “unilateral sanctions were ineffective.”

Both US and Iranian officials have sent mixed signals about whether they were headed to a confrontation or explore diplomatic solutions now that Trump has assumed office.

Maximum pressure

Tehran fears that Trump will return to his previous “maximum pressure” policy that he had applied on Iran during his first term in office. It also fears Britain, France and Germany could trigger the so-called “snapback mechanism,” part of the 2015 deal, which allows signatories to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran in cases of the “significant non-performance” of commitments.

The option to trigger the mechanism expires in October this year, adding urgency to the ongoing diplomatic efforts.

Last Friday, reports said Iranian officials had informed their European counterparts that Tehran would withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if the snapback mechanism is implemented.

Last week, Bloomberg reported that Trump could blow a $30 billion hole in Iran’s economy should he return reimpose his maximum pressure policy.

It said the president’s key advisers are looking at a big sanctions package that hits major players in Iran’s oil industry, which could come as early as February.

On Sunday, Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said in an interview that the administration will make key decisions concerning Iran over the next month.

He said the Israeli strikes against Hamas and Hezbollah, in addition to the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, have all prepared the circumstances for the US to soon take strategic decisions.