The War Department has released video of American troops intercepting a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean overnight.
The ship, M/T Tifani, had departed the Sri Lankan port of Galle on Saturday and was bound for Singapore while carrying Iranian oil, according to the Pentagon and tracking website VesselFinder.
X/@DeptofWarThe Pentagon said on X the boarding took place “without incident” and did not say whether any cargo was seized.
“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 statement read.
“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.”
Video showed the Navy SEALs landing on the Botswana-flagged tanker via helicopter and taking control of the vessel and stationing it in the Bay of Bengal.
The White House will ultimately decide what to do with the sanctioned vessel and the oil its carrying, military officials told The New York Times.
The operation comes after US Marines disabled and seized the Touska Iranian cargo ship on Sunday after it tried to evade the American blockade in the Gulf of Oman.
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had warned Tehran that the US military was ready to “actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran” in the Middle East and the Pacific region.
Iran has slammed the seizure of the boats as an “act of aggression,” with the Islamic republic maintaining that they would not engage in peace talks with the US so long as the blockade remains active.
Iran had shut down the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the war, with the Islamic republic moving a handful of its tankers every day while denying passage for hundreds of ships stuck in the Persian Gulf.
After the US blockade took effect last week, traffic along the strait has effectively dropped to zero.
