Mojtaba Qahremani, the chief justice of Hormozgan Province, said the IRGC captured the foreign oil tanker after weeks of precise technical and intelligence activities, reports suggest.
According to Iranian media, the seized vessel was the main component of a smuggling network, as it received fuel from light vessels to transport across the border.
Qahremani noted that the crew of the vessel, including captain, is being held in custody. In addition, the ships that carried fuel to the tanker are going to be prosecuted, according to the report.
Over the past years, the Islamic Republic has been reporting multiple oil smuggling operations in the Persian Gulf. Just last month, Iranian authorities seized another foreign vessel attempting to cross the border with 757,000 liters of fuel.
Iran has a vast amount of inexpensive crude, but it has faced difficulties exporting oil due to the sanctions the US re-imposed against Tehran in 2018, when Washington unilaterally ditched the nuclear deal.