Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy's Second Imam Hassan Mojtaba Region said it seized two "fuel-smuggling vessels" near Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf on February 5.

The seizure of the boats and crews comes amid increasing tensions between the US and Iran in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman in recent days, with the USS Abraham Lincoln stationed off the Arabian Peninsula. 

The IRGC Navy public relations office said 15 foreign crew members were handed over to judicial authorities for legal proceedings following the seizure, Hamshahri newspaper reported.

The vessels had been operating as part of an organised network smuggling fuel over recent months before being identified and seized through surveillance, tracking and intelligence work by IRGC Navy forces.

The network's activities were uncovered through sustained monitoring operations in the strategic waterway.

Iran has stepped up efforts to combat fuel smuggling in the Persian Gulf, with authorities regularly intercepting vessels attempting to transport subsidised Iranian fuel to neighbouring countries where it can be sold at higher prices.

The price differential between heavily subsidised domestic fuel and international market rates creates profitable opportunities for smuggling networks despite the legal risks.

Farsi Island sits in the central Persian Gulf and serves as a strategic point for monitoring maritime traffic through the waterway.

Following the seizure, regime stalwart Ali Akbar Velayati, said Iran stands ready to confront any external threat while also "supporting the resistance front," in a letter to Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem, ISNA reported.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran, as the main pillar of the resistance, without any intention to attack others, is fully prepared to stand against any threat and foreign enemy, especially the United States and the Zionist regime," Velayati wrote, adding that final victory belongs to the resistance front.

He did not make a direct reference to the recently seized ships but as part of a wider warning to the West and adversaries of the wider so-called "Axis of Resistance."