Iran has seized a small tanker it accuses of hauling 700,000 litres of smuggled oil, according to local media reports.

The 2,023-dwt Pearl G (built 1994) with nine Indian crew members was seized by Iranian naval forces near the Arash oilfield in the Middle East Gulf on Friday, according to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

It said the Togo-flagged ship was owned by a Dubai-based Iraqi and has been transferred to Bandar Imam Khomeini port for further investigations.