Protesters attack coastguard station in Iran after smuggler shot and killed

Authorities have confiscated more than 10 million litres of fuel from smugglers in past 11 months

Iranians fill their vehicles at a petrol station in Tehran, in 2019, shortly after Iran imposed petrol rationing and raised pump prices by 50% to cut costly subsidies that have fuelled high consumption and rampant smuggling (AFP via Getty Images)

Several coastguard officers have been injured in southern Iran after protestors attacked their station over the death of a fuel smuggler, according to an Iranian news agency.

The report said people were angered when guards shot and killed an unnamed 31-year-old man who was aboard a vessel allegedly smuggling fuel to neighbouring countries.

Iran has some of the lowest fuel prices in the world and has been fighting smuggling for years.

The coastguard had been pursuing various boats on Friday believed to be involved in such operations in the Persian Gulf waters of Sirik, the Fars agency said.

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General Hossein Dehaki, chief of the coastguard in southern Hormozgan province, was quoted as saying an undetermined number of people later attacked the coastguard station in the Kouhestak district.

He said several people were injured and the crowd damaged cars, vessels and equipment.

“Calm” was restored in the area by Friday evening, Gen Dehaki added.

It comes two weeks after at least three alleged fuel smugglers in Saravan, a town in Sistan and Baluchestan province, were killed in similar circumstances. It prompted a crowd of people to attack the town’s local governor’s office, which is near the border with Pakistan.

Molavi Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi, a Sunni religious leader in the province, called on all sides at the time to “avoid the destruction of public properties” and demanded a thorough investigation into the circumstances that led to the unrest and violence, local media reported.

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The United Nations said up to 23 people could have been killed during the protests by Revolutionary Guards and security forces.

The area is one of the least developed parts of Iran. The relationship between the predominantly Sunni residents and Iran’s Shiite theocracy has long been fraught with tensions.

Gen Dehaki said the coastguard has confiscated more than 10 million litres of fuel from smugglers over the past 11 months.

Smuggling fuel is common practice on both sides of the Iranian-Pakistani border. The illicit trade is often accompanied by gunfire and bribes.

Economic sanctions on Iran and the declining value of the Iranian rial have sparked the creation of organised fuel smuggling networks.

Additional reporting by agencies