The United States has launched a campaign to disrupt Iran's shipping network and squeeze its oil-reliant economy. Under a Trump administration directive, US forces have issued a global warning to track down vessels tied to Tehran or those suspected of carrying supplies to the Iranian government.
In the first intervention since the imposition of a blockade just over a week ago, US forces conducted a right-of-visit maritime interdiction aboard the M/T Tifani. The sanctioned oil tanker, which had previously been flagged for smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia, was detained near Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean. This seizure follows a separate incident in which the Navy boarded an Iranian cargo ship near the Strait of Hormuz.
Despite these efforts to stop sanctioned vessels, some tankers have managed to evade the US blockade. At least two fully laden Iranian tankers have sailed out of the Persian Gulf, ferrying approximately 9 million barrels of oil to the market.