The U.S. Department of War said on Tuesday that its forces boarded an oil vessel that had previously been sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil. 

The ship-tracking data showed the vessel located in the Indian Ocean, between Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

The Pentagon said on social media platform X that “Overnight, U.S. forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the stateless sanctioned M/T Tifani” in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility.

“International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels,” it further said.

“As we have made it 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 Pentagon said.

The incident came after U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier on Sunday that U.S. forces had intercepted and taken custody of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named Touska, which was trying to bypass its naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman.

According to the latest news reports, Iran has attacked U.S. military ships in retaliation for the U.S. seizure of its vessel.

Earlier, Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters warned that it would soon respond to the U.S.’s armed maritime piracy, according to Iran’s Press TV. 

(Xinhua/NAN)