Iranian oil smuggling: US boards M/T Tifani in the Bay of Bengal, Pentagon says

US forces boarded the oil tanker M/T Tifani in international waters, the Pentagon said Tuesday. The ship was previously sanctioned over smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia. The boarding was part of a wider US warning that it will track vessels linked to Tehran. A US defence official said the tanker was carrying Iranian oil.

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The Tifani was captured in the Bay of Bengal, between India and Southeast Asia. The Pentagon said US forces carried out a "right-of-visit\" maritime interdiction. The boarding happened without incident, according to the Pentagon’s social media post. The same post described the vessel as stateless, despite a Botswana flag.

Pentagon Iran-linked ships enforcement expands beyond Iranian waters

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week that efforts will reach beyond Iranian waters. Gen. Dan Caine said the actions will also go beyond US Central Command’s area. Gen. Dan Caine told reporters that forces elsewhere \"will actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran.\"

Gen. Dan Caine also pointed to activity in the Pacific. Gen. Dan Caine said the US would target vessels that left before the blockade began. That applied to ships outside the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for energy shipments. The Pentagon message said enforcement will apply wherever such vessels operate.

\"As we have made 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 announcement said. \"International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels.\" The wording echoed earlier statements from Trump administration officials.

Pentagon Iran-linked ships contraband list and capture notice

The US military also issued an expanded list of goods it considers contraband. It said it will board, search and seize such items from merchant vessels. A notice published Thursday said: \"any goods that are destined for an enemy and that may be susceptible to use in armed conflict are subject to capture at any place beyond neutral territory.\"

A US defence official said the military will decide within the next four days what happens next. Options include towing the Tifani back to the US. Another option is handing the vessel to another country. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the operation is ongoing.

Pentagon Iran-linked ships seizure follows Touska action

The Tifani action was the second interdiction linked to Iran by the US military. The US Navy attacked and seized the Iranian-flagged cargo ship Touska on Sunday. The Navy said the ship tried to evade a blockade of Iranian ports. President Donald Trump said an American destroyer blew a hole in the ship’s engine room.

The US actions came as an already fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran neared its expiry. The report also noted that Pakistan was trying to broker talks between Washington and Tehran. US moves were described as part of a campaign to stop ships tied to Tehran. The effort covered suspected cargo such as weapons, oil, metals and electronics.

Pentagon Iran-linked ships raise ceasefire and legal questions

Jason Chuah, a law professor at the City University of London and the Maritime Institute of Malaysia, said the law is unclear. \"The US and Iran are operating in an awkward space where the law doesnt give you a clean yes-or-no answer on whether the ceasefire was violated,\" Chuah said. Chuah said the US view appears different from Iran’s.

\"The United States seems to take the line that the conflict never fully switched off - that is there is still a state of armed conflict,\" Chuah said. \"By saying that, it can keep doing things like enforcing a blockade and even using limited force at sea.\" Chuah said Iran treated the ceasefire as a halt to hostile acts.

Chuah said Iran’s joint military command condemned the armed boarding. The command called it an act of piracy and a violation of the ceasefire. Chuah said blockades, and even limited strikes, can be lawful during wartime. Merchant vessels may become targets if they carry contraband or support enemy logistics.

Chuah also compared the situation with past US steps against Venezuela-linked tankers. The US had earlier used a blockade against sanctioned oil tankers tied to Venezuela. Chuah said the US had not fired on those vessels. Chuah said it may be difficult to show a ship like the Touska was truly aiding military action.

\"The whole dispute really turns on a deceptively simple question: Did the ceasefire actually suspend the right to use force?\" Chuah said. \"If it did, then firing on vessels or seizing them is very hard to square with the United Nations Charter.\" The comments reflected the core legal issue around the truce.

Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and a senior defence adviser with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the terms were unclear. \"Trump announced it. The Iranians agreed. But theres no formal agreement,\" Cancian said. \"So whether it broke the ceasefire or not depends on your perspective.... Nothing was written down.\"

Michael OHanlon, a defence and foreign policy analyst at the Brookings Institution, said the blockade was not covered. \"We agreed to stop dropping bombs on them, and thats the basic thing they wanted,\" OHanlon said. OHanlon added that the US still needed to enforce the blockade to keep it effective.

The Pentagon said the Tifani boarding was peaceful, and a decision on the vessel was pending. Officials framed the step as part of wider maritime enforcement against Iran-linked shipping. Analysts said the ceasefire terms remained disputed and loosely defined. With the truce nearing its end, the legal debate over interdictions at sea continued.

With inputs from PTI