By Zarak Khan | 2026-04-24

The United States has stepped up maritime enforcement operations to dismantle illicit Iranian smuggling networks, intercepting several oil tankers and cargo vessels as part of a high-stakes effort to uphold international law and protect global energy security.

US military forces "carried out a maritime interdiction and right-of-visit boarding of the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T Majestic X transporting oil from Iran, in the Indian Ocean,” said US Department of War in an April 23 statement.

The statement shared on X also included video footage showing helicopters hovering just above a large tanker.

The Majestic X vessel was added to the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Iran sanctions list in December 2024 for its involvement in transporting Iranian oil as part of the Vision Ship Management fleet, Seatrade Maritime News reported on April 23.

Indian Ocean boardings

The operation targeting the M/T Majestic X marks the latest in a series of aggressive US enforcement actions designed to dismantle Tehran's shadow fleet and uphold a naval blockade that has already turned back dozens of vessels attempting to circumvent international sanctions.

On April 21, US Navy SEALS boarded another sanctioned, Iran-linked tanker, the M/T Tifani, in the Indian Ocean, after the Pentagon said it was carrying oil from Iran.

The location of the Majestic X seizure is in close proximity to where the Tifani was intercepted, underscoring a concentrated area of maritime enforcement activity in the Indian Ocean.

These interdictions were carried out within the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) area of responsibility.

US Navy destroyers also escorted at least two other Iranian tankers, the Dorena and Sevin, that left the Iranian port of Chabahar before a US blockade of Iranian ports began on April 13, New York Times reported citing a US military official on April 21.

Shadow fleet tactics

US sanctions policy has long targeted oil exports as a primary revenue source for Tehran, particularly those linked to entities associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its affiliate Qods Force.

US officials said the interdiction effort exposes a pattern of ongoing deceptive practices by Iran, including attempts to "disguise the origin of the oil using ship-to-ship transfers, falsified documents, and other means.”

Sanctioned oil and fuel are often "sold at deep discounts due to the risks involved, with intermediaries moving cargo through complex ownership structures, false documentation and mid-sea transfers that complicate enforcement,” Reuters reported February 16.

Iran has exploited the Gulf's crowded shipping lanes and the complex network of production facilities and trading hubs to "obfuscate and conceal the origin of its oil, allowing it to sell its crude to buyers in China, Syria, Venezuela, and elsewhere" through a range of sanctions-evasion tactics, the Middle East Institute warned in a 2021 analysis

These operations come as Washington maintains a blockade on Iranian trade to counter Tehran's regional aggression, which recently included Iranian forces firing on merchant vessels to prevent transit through the critical Strait of Hormuz.

The closure of this waterway by Iran has triggered a global energy crisis by disrupting a fifth of the world's oil and gas supply.

Global enforcement with allies

The US military said on April 23 the interceptions of the stateless vessels used by Iran are part of a "global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate.”

"International waters cannot be used as a shield by sanctioned actors,” it said.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) provides clear authority for a "right of visit," permitting warships to board vessels on the high seas when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the ship is without nationality.

Since the start of the blockade on April 13, the US forces have redirected more than 30 ships attempting to circumvent the blockade.

The US had previously seized several tankers carrying illicit oil from Venezuela following the US commando raid there in January that seized Nicolás Maduro, the president at the time.

The US is not alone in its effort.

Allies like the Indian Coast Guard have also seized three US-sanctioned tankers linked to Iran reinforcing a growing international coalition dedicated to maritime stability, Reuters reported February 16.

Elsewhere, the US military conducts high-profile freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs) in the South China Sea, responding to what officials and analysts describe as a sustained campaign of Chinese coercion that is heightening tensions in one of the world's busiest maritime corridors.