The IRGC stated that the tankers are suspected of fuel smuggling, and during the inspection, more than one million liters of this substance were found. Additionally, as a result of the operation, 15 crew members were detained, who will be brought to trial, according to IRGC representatives.
It is worth noting that on February 3, amid worsening relations between the US and Iran, Iranian officials attempted to seize an American tanker. On the same day, a US Air Force F-35C fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was reportedly "aggressively approaching" the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.
