US military seizes sanctioned tanker transporting Iranian oil

US forces have seized a Guyana-flagged tanker transporting Iranian oil in the Indian Ocean, the War Department confirmed Thursday.

The Pentagon released footage of the seizure of the Majestic X on social media, with photos showing American troops on the deck of the vessel.

The Majestic X, formerly known as Phonix, had been sanctioned by the Treasury Department in 2024 for smuggling Iranian crude oil in violaiton of American sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Ship-tracking data showed the Majestic X in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia, roughly the same location as the oil tanker Tifani, seized by the US earlier this week. The Majestic had been bound for Zhoushan, China.

“We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate,” the Pentagon said on X.

“International waters cannot be used as a shield by sanctioned actors. The Department of War will continue to deny illicit actors and their vessels freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain.”

Thursday’s announcement comes one day after Iran fired on three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz, capturing two of them.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Wednesday afternoon that Iran’s seizure of those ships didn’t violate terms of an ongoing cease-fire because, as she put it, “these were not US or Israeli ships, these were two international vessels.

There was no immediate response from Iran on the news of Thursday’s seizure.

Since the start of Operation Epic Fury Feb. 28, more than 30 ships have come under attack in the waters of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. The threat of attack, rising insurance premiums and other fears have all but stopped traffic from moving through the strait, through which 20% of all crude oil and natural gas traded passes.

The cease-fire, implemented April 8 and extended indefinitely by President Trump on Tuesday, has been strained by dueling American attacks on Iranian ships and those by Iran on commercial vessels.

A second round of negotiations meant to take place in Islamabad, Pakistan, earlier this week did not happen and it is unclear when or whether further talks will be held.

New York Post