U.S. forces are preparing to board Iran-linked oil tankers and seize commercial vessels in international waters in the coming days, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing U.S. officials, in a move that would expand Washington’s naval crackdown beyond the Middle East.
The report said the planned seizures could take place far beyond the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, where U.S. forces are already enforcing a maritime blockade on Iran, and are aimed at increasing economic pressure on Tehran to push it toward concessions in talks with Washington and reopening the key shipping route.
Indian tanker urging IRGC to stop firing at them
The development comes as tensions around the Strait of Hormuz escalated sharply.
Iran had announced Friday that it would fully reopen the strategic waterway following a ceasefire linked to fighting involving the IDF and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terrorist group in Lebanon. Oil prices dropped on the news, and President Donald Trump welcomed the move.
But hours later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the strait would again be restricted, citing Trump’s statement that the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports would remain in place until a broader agreement is reached.
Several vessels managed to transit the strait before the renewed restrictions. Maritime security sources later reported that at least two ships came under fire, including a supertanker carrying Iraqi oil. One vessel reported being targeted by fast boats linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, while another said it was hit by an unidentified projectile that caused damage but no casualties.
The incidents forced multiple ships to turn back. India said two of the vessels were flying its flag and summoned the Iranian ambassador in New Delhi to express what it described as deep concern over the attacks.
Audio circulating in maritime media captured a captain of one of the targeted vessels calling on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard naval unit to allow the ship to retreat after coming under fire.
Trump imposed the maritime blockade earlier in the week after Iran refused to reopen the strait as part of a temporary ceasefire arrangement, which Tehran argued had been violated because it did not initially include Lebanon.
The blockade is intended to curb Iran’s oil exports, much of which continue to flow to China despite the conflict. The Journal reported that the planned expansion of enforcement — including seizures of ships worldwide suspected of carrying Iranian oil or weapons — is part of a broader U.S. pressure campaign.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, signaled such a move earlier this week, saying the United States would actively pursue vessels carrying Iranian oil, including so-called “shadow fleet” tankers that operate outside international regulations.
U.S. officials quoted in the report described the effort as part of a new phase of economic pressure on Iran, aimed in part at influencing China, which receives the majority of Iran’s oil exports.
The escalation adds further uncertainty to the conflict, as Washington weighs whether to extend a fragile ceasefire set to expire in the coming days.