US Seizes Second Iran-Linked Oil Tanker in Indian Ocean as Maritime Tensions Escalate

DUBAI — The U.S. military seized a second oil tanker associated with Iranian smuggling operations on April 23, 2026, in the Indian Ocean, the Pentagon announced Thursday.

The vessel, the Guyana-flagged Majestic X (previously named Phonix and sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2024 for smuggling Iranian crude oil), was intercepted while bound for Zhoushan, China, between Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The Defense Department released video footage showing U.S. forces on the deck of the ship.

The Pentagon stated: “We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate.” No immediate response from Iran was reported.

This marks the second major U.S. seizure in recent weeks. On April 19, U.S. forces seized the Iranian-flagged cargo ship M/V Touska near the Strait of Hormuz after it attempted to evade the American naval blockade. The guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance fired shots into the vessel’s engine room before Marines boarded and took control.

The latest action follows Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps firing on three commercial vessels and seizing two of them in the Strait of Hormuz on April 22. Iranian state media reported the IRGC seized the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas, claiming the ships operated without authorization and tampered with navigation systems. A third vessel was also fired upon.

The incidents occurred one day after President Donald Trump announced an indefinite extension of the fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire while keeping the naval blockade of Iranian ports fully in place. The blockade, part of broader pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program, has severely restricted Iranian oil exports and cost the regime hundreds of millions of dollars daily.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of global seaborne oil passes, has become a flashpoint in the ongoing standoff. The U.S. has diverted or turned back dozens of vessels attempting to reach Iranian ports as part of the enforcement effort.