Iranian military units detained an Eswatini-flagged vessel carrying roughly 350,000 liters of contraband diesel fuel in the Persian Gulf, according to Iranian state media.
Commander of the IRGC Second Naval Zone Heydar Honarian-Modjarrad said the ship had been monitored in the area before naval personnel boarded it under a judicial order and escorted it to the coast of Bushehr Province, where the fuel was unloaded and transferred to a local branch of the state petroleum distribution system.
The 13 foreign crew members were on board, including citizens of India and at least one neighboring country, all of whom were detained under Iranian maritime and judicial procedures.
Honarian-Modjarrad said the operation was part of efforts to counter organized fuel smuggling, which Iranian officials link to price gaps between domestic and regional fuel markets.
The detention was one of several similar cases in 2025; in April, the IRGC reported seizing two Tanzania-flagged vessels carrying a combined 1.5 million liters of diesel fuel near Farsi Island.
Eswatini is a landlocked monarchy in Southern Africa, officially known as the Kingdom of Eswatini. The country maintains a ship registry that allows foreign-owned vessels to operate under its flag in accordance with international maritime regulations.
IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) is a branch of Iran’s armed forces established in 1979. It operates alongside the regular military and includes naval, aerospace, and ground units, as well as economic and logistical structures governed by Iranian law.
