US military prepares to board and seize Iran-linked tankers, commercial ships: Report
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "US military prepares to board and seize Iran-linked tankers, commercial ships: Report")
An Iranian flag flutters on board the Adrian Darya oil tanker. Photograph: (AFP)
The broadening of the campaign will enable the US to take control of Iran-linked vessels around the world, including ships carrying Iranian oil that are already sailing outside the Persian Gulf and those carrying arms that could support the Iranian regime.
The US military is preparing to board Iran-linked oil tankers and seize commercial ships in international waters in the coming days, thereby expanding its naval crackdown beyond the Middle East, said a Wall Street Journal report, citing US officials. The report says that the US is planning to expand its campaign to the entire globe and will target ships ferrying Iranian oil outside the Persian Gulf as well as vessels transporting weapons that could support the Islamic Republic.
The planning assumes significance as the Iranian military continues to tighten its grip on the Strait of Hormuz and attacked several commercial vessels on Saturday. The developments sent shipping companies scrambling a day after Iran’s foreign minister said the strait was fully open to commercial traffic, an announcement that was welcomed by President Donald Trump.
Also Read: India summons Iranian envoy, lodges formal protest over gunfire on Indian vessels in Hormuz
Trump admin stepping up economic pressure on Tehran
The Trump administration’s decision to step up the economic pressure on Tehran is intended to force the regime to reopen the strait and make concessions on its nuclear programme.
Trump said on Friday that Iran has already agreed to hand over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the US, but Tehran has rejected that claim.
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According to US Central Command, 23 ships that sought to leave Iranian ports have been turned back as part of a naval blockade of Iranian ports. The broadening of the campaign will enable the US to take control of Iran-linked vessels around the world, including ships carrying Iranian oil that are already sailing outside the Persian Gulf and those carrying arms that could support the Iranian regime.
‘Trump optimistic that Economic Fury measures will facilitate peace deal’
The US “will actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran,” Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Thursday.
The move is part of the US pressure campaign against Tehran, which Trump administration officials have dubbed “Economic Fury.”
Trump is optimistic that the naval blockade, combined with measures imposed under Economic Fury, will help facilitate a peace deal, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told WSJ.
Stepping up the economic pressure is vital as the temporary ceasefire between US and Iran expires next week and talks held in Pakistan ended without a breakthrough.
US officials say that the country’s defence industry has been bombed heavily.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that US forces were “maximally postured” to resume military operations if talks fail.
