U.S. forces have boarded the oil tanker M/T Tifani, which had previously been sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia. The Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday that the operation was carried out as a “right-of-visit maritime interdiction” and took place without incident.

The vessel was intercepted in the Bay of Bengal, between India and Southeast Asia, while carrying Iranian oil. A U.S. defence official, speaking anonymously, said the military will decide within four days whether to tow the tanker back to the United States or hand it over to another country.

This marks the second vessel linked to Iran interdicted by the U.S. military in recent days. On Sunday, the U.S. Navy attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, with President Donald Trump stating that an American destroyer had fired into the ship’s engine room.

The seizure of the Tifani came just before Trump announced an extension of the ceasefire in the Iran war at Pakistan’s request, though he emphasised that the blockade would remain in place.

The Pentagon described the Tifani as “stateless” despite its Botswana registration, and reiterated that international waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels.

Officials declared that the United States will pursue global maritime enforcement against illicit networks and vessels providing material support to Iran, regardless of location.

General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had already signalled that enforcement would extend beyond Iranian waters, including operations in the Pacific targeting vessels that departed before the blockade began.

The military has also published a broad list of contraband goods, stating that any items destined for an enemy and potentially usable in armed conflict are subject to capture anywhere beyond neutral territory. Legal experts have noted that blockades can be lawful in wartime, though questions remain about whether such actions violate the ceasefire.

Jason Chuah, a law professor at the City University of London and the Maritime Institute of Malaysia, explained that the United States appears to consider the conflict ongoing, thereby justifying continued enforcement. Iran, however, views the ceasefire as a suspension of all hostile acts.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the blockade as a breach of the ceasefire, accusing the U.S. of striking commercial vessels and taking crews hostage. Iran’s U.N. Mission has asked the Security Council and Secretary-General António Guterres to denounce the seizure of the Iranian cargo ship Touska.

Analysts have pointed out that while blockades and limited attacks on vessels can be lawful if they contribute to military action, proving that merchant ships like the Touska are part of enemy logistics is more difficult.

The debate centres on whether the ceasefire suspended the right to use force. If it did, then boarding or attacking vessels would be inconsistent with the U.N. Charter. Mark Cancian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies noted that the ceasefire terms were never formalised, leaving interpretation open.

Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution argued that the U.S. did not violate the ceasefire, since it was limited to halting bombing campaigns, not the blockade, which he said must be enforced to remain effective.

Agencies