The U.S. military intercepted and boarded a sanctioned cargo vessel carrying Iranian oil in the Indo-Pacific region Tuesday, the Pentagon said.
U.S. forces performed a “right-of-visit boarding” of the “stateless” M/T Tifani without incident as part of a broader maritime operation aimed at stifling Iran’s oil export business, the Department of Defense said in a statement.
“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. International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels,” the department posted on X.
The statement included a video of what appeared to be Navy SEAL operators landing on the Tifani.
The operation is the latest incident of its kind since the U.S. began its blockade of Iranian ports along the Strait of Hormuz last week. Navy forces fired upon and intercepted an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel in the strait on Sunday, and are investigating the ship’s contents.
The U.S. signaled this week that it would expand operations outside the strait and would intercept ships carrying Iranian oil in other waters.
Iran’s oil exports generate at least $40 billion a year for Tehran, with nearly 90% of the revenue going to China. During the war, Iran has continued its oil sales, though at limited capacity, through its fleet of “shadow tankers.”
