Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy confirmed on Saturday that it seized the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Talara and escorted it to port for investigation. Officials said the move was carried out under a judicial order to prevent the illegal transfer of Iranian-owned petrochemical products abroad.
According to details obtained by Fars News, the tanker was carrying about 30,000 tons of petrochemical cargo bound for Singapore. Authorities said the shipment belonged to Iran but was being exported unlawfully by an Iranian company, stressing that the operation was not intended as a retaliatory measure against foreign parties.
Some reports had suggested that the seizure could possibly be Iran’s limited response to an October attack on the Cameroon‑flagged MV Falcon tanker near the coast of Yemen.
The IRGC stated that the vessel was intercepted in the Gulf of Oman and diverted to an Iranian anchorage for a full inspection of its cargo and documentation. Legal proceedings have begun to recover what officials described as “national assets.”
Columbia Shipmanagement, which manages the vessel, said contact with the Talara was lost at 8:22 a.m. local time on Friday, about 20 nautical miles off the coast of Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates.
Reuters had earlier reported the tanker was owned by Cyprus-based Pasha Finance. It cited US officials and maritime security sources as saying the move marked Tehran’s first confirmed tanker seizure since Israeli-US strikes on Iran in June.
