U.S. forces seize another oil tanker shipping illicit oil from Iran in Indian Ocean

"We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate," the Department of War said.

Published: April 23, 2026 10:08am

U.S. forces continued interdiction efforts against illicit oil from Iran in the Indian Ocean. 

The Department of War shared a video on X on Thursday showing U.S. forces boarding a tanker associated with the smuggling of Iranian oil.

"We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate," the department said in the statement. 

Photos released by the department show U.S. forces boarding the Majestic X, a Guyana-flagged oil tanker. The U.S. Treasury Department had sanctioned the vessel in 2024 — at the time it was named Phonix — for smuggling Iranian crude oil to avoid U.S. sanctions against Iran, the Associated Press reported

The seizer follows another that happened on Tuesday. 

 

 

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