Pentagon says Navy forces detained the M/T Tifani, a sanctioned vessel carrying Iranian crude, as ceasefire talks face uncertainty.
3:20 PM
The U.S. military stopped and boarded a sanctioned tanker carrying Iranian oil in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, the Pentagon announced, marking the latest enforcement action against Iran's oil trade.
Navy SEALS conducted the boarding of the M/T Tifani overnight in the Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility, according to the Department of Defense. The operation proceeded without incident, officials said.
The Pentagon statement said the action was part of broader efforts to disrupt what it described as illicit networks supporting Iran. "We will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran — anywhere they operate," the Defense Department said. The agency added it would "continue to deny illicit actors and their vessels freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain."
Video released by the Pentagon appeared to show Navy SEALS landing by helicopter on the vessel during the operation.
The boarding occurred as a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran was set to expire, with resumption of talks described as uncertain. The action came months after the United States and Israel began attacking Iran on February 28.
A U.S. military official said that with the M/T Tifani now in military custody, the White House would determine what to do with the sanctioned vessel and its cargo. The tanker was described as stateless in Pentagon communications.
The operation represents part of the Trump administration's strategy to pressure Iran's oil-dependent economy through maritime enforcement and sanctions enforcement.
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