Iran’s judiciary has indicted 17 foreign nationals accused of smuggling fuel after their tanker was seized in the Gulf of Oman in July, the head of Hormozgan province’s justice department said on Wednesday.
Mojtaba Ghahremani said the suspects, from four different countries, were detained when Iranian forces intercepted the vessel east of Hormozgan province. The ship was carrying more than 2.3 million liters of diesel, he said, adding that the case has now been sent to court for trial.
The indictment follows the July 14 seizure, when Iranian border guards and naval units boarded the tanker near the port of Jask. State media later identified the vessel as the Phoenix, sailing under the Cook Islands flag. Authorities at the time said the ship was transporting smuggled fuel, with the cargo valued at roughly $840,000.
Iran has stepped up maritime enforcement in the region, citing large-scale fuel smuggling driven by price differences with neighboring countries. In recent months, the Revolutionary Guard and other security forces have reported multiple operations in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz — a strategic waterway for global oil shipments.
In April, the IRGC Navy said it intercepted a vessel carrying about 100,000 liters of fuel and arrested six crew members. Around the same time, two other tankers alleged to be transporting more than 3 million liters of diesel were seized and taken to the port of Bushehr.
The outlet said years of drought and groundwater depletion have left once-fertile fields barren, destroying local agriculture and livelihoods.
Farmers told ILNA that widespread crop failure has driven them to close their orchards and shops, with some families migrating to nearby towns.
“The salt-laden winds have made breathing painful. People are leaving,” one resident said.
Local officials warned that the storms -- clouds of fine salt lifted from the desiccated lakebed -- are contaminating soil and water and triggering respiratory and even cancer-related illnesses among remaining residents.
In the village of GovarchinGhale, population has dropped from more than 470 families to around 130, mostly elderly people, according to the village council.
ILNA cited environmental experts linking the worsening crisis to decades of overpumping and illegal wells.
Urmia County Governor Rasoul Moghabeli said the number of wells in the lake basin had surged from 7,000 to over 90,000 in recent years, putting dangerous pressure on the groundwater.
Officials from the Urmia Lake Restoration Headquarters denied reports of mass migration, saying the reports were politically motivated, but acknowledged that more than 90% of water consumption in the region goes to agriculture -- much of it for water-intensive crops such as apples and sugar beet.
They warned that unless irrigation practices are reformed and unauthorized farmland reclaimed, the salt storms could expand across northwestern Iran within a decade, threatening millions of residents.
The report comes as Iran faces a deepening nationwide water emergency with 19 major dams close to depletion.
Political Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said the envoys and heads of European missions were called in after the EU-GCC communiqué questioned Iran’s sovereignty over three islands in the Persian Gulf and criticized its missile and regional activities.
“The summons followed the meddlesome allegations in the joint statement of the EU and GCC foreign ministers regarding Iran’s islands and its defensive issues,” Takht-Ravanchi said, according to state media.
The move is a response to an EU-GCC meeting whose final statement backed the UAE’s claim to Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb -- urging a peaceful settlement or referral to the ICJ -- and called for a strictly peaceful Iranian nuclear program, and curbs on the proliferation of missiles, drones and related technology.
Tehran rejects the UAE’s claims, says the three islands are integral Iranian territory, and accuses Western and Persian Gulf states of undermining its sovereignty.
The statement also called on Iran to restore full cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog. It also pressed Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis to join UN-led talks, halt Red Sea attacks and free detained aid workers.
The move comes amid heightened tensions after UN sanctions were reimposed and renewed Western pressure over Iran’s nuclear and regional activities.
Speaking at the EU-GCC High-Level Forum on Regional Security and Cooperation in Kuwait, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc sought to “encourage Iran to act as a responsible power in the Middle East” while acknowledging that the return of UN sanctions was “a setback but not the end of diplomacy.”
Kallas also linked instability in the Red Sea to Iran’s support for Yemen’s Houthi group and urged continued dialogue to reduce tensions.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also accused Tehran of “projecting destabilizing influence” through its regional proxies and warned that Houthi attacks were endangering both Israel and international shipping routes.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed such criticism as politically motivated.
Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tuesday that “those who reimposed restrictions on Iran and accuse us of destabilization have no right to lecture us,” describing the remarks as shameful and hypocritical.
Baghaei added that European governments, which he said spend “hundreds of billions of dollars” on advanced weaponry, were in no position to question Iran’s indigenous defense capabilities.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland presented the bill to Parliament, saying it aims to close a major legal gap in Australia’s counterterrorism framework by permitting the listing of state-backed organizations accused of supporting or conducting terrorist acts.
The move follows findings by the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) that the IRGC was involved in two anti-Semitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne in 2024.
Rowland said the new Criminal Code Amendment (State Sponsors of Terrorism) Bill 2025 would strengthen Australia’s ability to respond to “malicious foreign actors” and serve as a warning to any state seeking to threaten the country through violence or coercion.
“This bill strengthens Australia’s counterterrorism framework, creating an environment in which it is more difficult, more risky, and more costly for foreign actors to cause harm,” she told Parliament.
Under the proposed law, the government would gain the power to list foreign state agencies or entities as state sponsors of terrorism if they are found to have directly or indirectly planned, supported, or financed acts of terrorism against Australia.
Once listed, it would become a criminal offence to collaborate with, fund, or provide material assistance to those entities. Limited exemptions would apply for diplomatic or legal obligations.
The legislation introduces new criminal offences, including preparing or participating in state-sponsored terrorist acts and offering material support to listed state actors. Intelligence and law enforcement agencies would also receive expanded powers to investigate and disrupt suspected state-linked terrorism.
ASIO findings link IRGC to attacks in Australia
The bill comes after a series of actions by Canberra against Tehran. In August, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expelled Iranian Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi following ASIO’s conclusion that the IRGC directed two arson attacks on Jewish sites -- one at a kosher restaurant in Sydney and another at a synagogue in Melbourne.
“ASIO has now gathered enough credible intelligence to reach a deeply disturbing conclusion that the Iranian government directed at least two of these attacks. Iran has sought to disguise its involvement,” Albanese said.
He described the incidents as “extraordinary acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil.”
The proposed law would align Australia more closely with allies such as the United States, which designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization in 2019.
The group, established in 1979 after Iran’s Islamic Revolution, reports directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and wields significant military, political, and economic influence at home and abroad. Its Quds Force oversees operations that have supported armed groups in Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, and Syria.
Australia’s move follows its decision last week, along with New Zealand, to implement revived United Nations sanctions on Iran after European powers triggered the snapback mechanism over Tehran’s nuclear program. The sanctions reimposed restrictions on arms, finance, and missile activities.
Canberra has also joined G7 nations in condemning Iran’s repression of dissidents abroad and intimidation of diaspora communities. In September, Australia warned of “transnational repression” targeting journalists and Jewish groups.
Rowland said the latest legislative step reflects Australia’s evolving security environment. “The threats we face are changing,” she said. “This bill ensures that our national security laws remain fit for purpose -- robust, balanced, and capable of protecting all Australians.”