TEHRAN – Iranian security forces have dismantled one of the largest fuel smuggling networks operating in the country’s north, seizing approximately 2 million liters of diesel and arresting those involved in the illegal trade.
According to the Information Office of the Revolutionary Guards Mazandaran Province, intelligence units of the Revolutionary Guards Karbala organization identified and dismantled the large-scale network after extensive intelligence and technical operations.
The smuggling ring reportedly included state and national fuel traffickers, fuel station employees, transportation contractors, fuel distributors, and truck drivers engaged in the illegal diversion and sale of subsidized fuel. A systematic operation was carried out in close cooperation with judicial authorities, leading to the disruption of the group’s activities.
Iran continues to engage in widespread fuel smuggling, both by land and sea, a problem driven by the country’s heavily subsidized fuel prices, which are among the lowest in the world. Wide price differentials between Iran and neighboring countries have facilitated large-scale illegal fuel transfers for years.
In response, Iranian authorities have stepped up efforts to interdict smugglers from land and sea, working with the Revolutionary Guard’s navy, army, and law enforcement agencies. According to official statistics, an estimated 25 million to 30 million liters of fuel products, including gasoline and diesel, are smuggled out of Iran every day.