If confirmed, the development would represent the latest move by Iran to hamper navigation in the waterway

Iran has seized another vessel and its crew in the Strait of Hormuz, a semi-official Iranian news agency reported on Monday.

Fars News said that the vessel was carrying "smuggled diesel" and that its crew of 11 had been arrested.

"The ship, called Linch, sailed from the port of Lankah and was heading towards the UAE. It was stopped 20 miles east of the island of Tunb," an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval commander told the agency.

The islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunb, a few kilometres off the UAE coastline and regarded as strategically important waypoints in the Strait of Hormuz, were seized by Iran in 1971 as the UAE was formed.

If the ship seizure is confirmed, it would represent the latest move by Iran to hamper navigation in the waterway, one of the most vital routes for global energy supplies.

The US has blamed Iran for a series of attacks on oil tankers. Iran has seized at least one British-flagged tanker and approached another.

Washington and other Western powers have accused Tehran of lashing out after the US withdrew from the nuclear deal signed in 2015.

It then imposed two rounds of crippling sanctions on the Iranian economy to disrupt what it says is malign activity across the Middle East. Iran has proxies operating in Lebanon, Yemen, the Gaza Strip and Syria.

_____________

May 12, 2019: Four commercial tankers, including the Saudi-flagged Amjad, pictured, are attacked in Gulf of Oman. AFP May 12, 2019: Four commercial tankers, including the Saudi-flagged MV Al Marzoqah oil tanker, are attacked in Gulf of Oman. EPA May 12, 2019: Four commercial tankers, including the Norwegian flagged Andrea Victory, are attacked in Gulf of Oman. Reuters June 13, 2019: The Japanese Kokuka Courageous and the Norwegian Front Altair damaged by limpet mines. Pictured: the crude oil tanker Front Altair on fire in the Gulf of Oman. EPA June 13, 2019: The Japanese Kokuka Courageous and the Norwegian Front Altair damaged by limpet mines. Pictured: Iran Guards try to remove an unexploded mine from the Kokuka Courageous. EPA July 11. 2019: Royal Navy Type 23 frigate HMS Montrose warns off Iranian vessels trying to divert an oil tanker. Reuters July 13, 2019: Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had detained a "foreign tanker" and its 12 crew for allegedly smuggling fuel. EPA July 19, 2019: Iran Revolutionary Guards seize the Swedish-owned, British-flagged tanker Stena Impero. Reuters JUl 25, 2019: The UK royal navy begins escorting British-flagged vessels through Strait of Hormuz. EPA

_____________

Live blog: Latest Iran developments