By Jack Phillips
Contributing Writer
U.S. military forces boarded an oil tanker that was previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil in the Indian Ocean, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
In a post on X, the Department of War wrote that the military conducted an overnight “right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding” of the sanctioned M/T Tifani tanker ship in the U.S. military’s Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean area of command.
“As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran — anywhere they operate,” the Pentagon said.
“International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels. The Department of War will continue to deny illicit actors and their vessels freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain.”
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has listed the Tifani as a sanctioned vessel under a 2018 executive order that placed sanctions on Iranian-linked assets.
Ship-tracking data showed the Tifani was last located in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Malaysia. According to MarineTraffic.com, the vessel is roughly 1,082 feet in length and sailing under the flag of Botswana, while the Pentagon on Tuesday described it as stateless.
Accompanying video footage released by the Pentagon on X showed U.S. military helicopters hovering above the Tifani as troops descended from ropes on the vessel.
It’s the latest move in the U.S. conflict with Iran to stop any ship tied to Tehran or those suspected of carrying supplies that could help its government, from weapons and oil to metals and electronics.
The announcement comes hours ahead of the expiration of a ceasefire between the United States and Iran, and as Pakistan attempts to broker talks between Washington and Tehran.
Last week, the U.S. military imposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports, saying that no ships can travel to or from Iran as the Trump administration seeks to impose economic pressure on the country during the ceasefire.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week that the U.S. blockade would extend beyond Iranian waters and the war theater under the control of the U.S. Central Command.
U.S. forces in other areas of responsibility, he told reporters at the Pentagon at the time, “will actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran.” He specifically pointed to operations in the Pacific and explained that the United States would target vessels that left before the blockade began outside the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for energy and other shipments.
President Donald Trump also announced on Sunday that U.S. forces seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, the M/V Touska, and fired at its engine. The ship was previously sanctioned by the Treasury Department, he said, due to illegal activity.
In an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday morning, Trump was asked whether he would resume strikes against Iran if progress isn’t made during talks in Pakistan. Before the ceasefire was announced two weeks ago, the president said the U.S. military would begin strikes on Iranian bridges and power plants if no progress was made on reopening the Strait of Hormuz waterway that links the Persian Gulf with the ocean.
“Well, I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with,” Trump said in response. “But, you know, we’re ready to go. I mean, the military is raring to go.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
