Tehran, March 31 (dpa/GNA) — According to reports from the Iranian state news agency IRNA on Monday, Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has taken control of two oil tankers in the Persian Gulf for allegedly engaging in fuel smuggling.
The ships are en route to Bushehr, an Iranian seaport located in the southwestern part of the country, where they will unload more than 3 million liters of fuel as per the report.
At first, it was not clear under whose flag the two oil tankers were operating.
Leading Iranian navy commanders have repeatedly threatened in recent months to block the important shipping route in the Persian Gulf amid rising military tensions.
The U.S. has charged the Iranian navy with impeding maritime commerce in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman — vital waterways connecting the Persian Gulf, adjacent to Iran’s coastline, with the Indian Ocean.
The Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran and Oman and spans approximately 55 kilometers in width, is regarded as a crucial maritime route for international petroleum commerce.
Recent days have seen escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington, with US President Donald Trump warning Iran of potential military consequences if they do not consent to an agreement restricting their nuclear activities.
"If they fail to reach an agreement, there will be bombings unlike anything they've ever witnessed," Trump stated in remarks made to the American network NBC on Sunday.
Earlier this month, in a letter addressed to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Trump stated that Tehran had to choose between entering into negotiations for a revised nuclear agreement or confronting a military response.
On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian once again dismissed the idea of direct talks regarding his nation's nuclear program with the Trump administration, stating that Tehran would be amenable to engaging in indirect negotiations instead.
In 2018, during his initial term as president, Trump single-handedly pulled out of the Vienna nuclear accord aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanction relief. Following this withdrawal, Tehran ceased complying with the pact's conditions as well.
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