The US says its forces have boarded a sanctioned tanker carrying Iranian oil in the Indian Ocean, the BBC reports.
The US Department of Defense said in a statement that it had seized the M/T Majestic X. Since the US began a naval blockade on the 13th of April, preventing ships from leaving or entering Iranian ports, several ships have been seized that have attempted to break through the blockade.
US President Donald Trump has also ordered the destruction of any ship or boat that lays mines in the critical Strait of Hormuz. Central Command (Centcom) has said it has ordered 33 ships to return to port, while the Department of Defense said it would continue to seize ships providing material support to Iran, wherever they are.
Iran earlier this week called the seizure of its cargo ship an act of piracy. Trump hopes to pressure Tehran by cutting off its oil revenues and the fees it collects from ships allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking at the White House on the 23rd of April, Trump said the blockade was 100% effective and Iran was failing to continue doing business.
He also said he had rejected Iran’s offer to open the strait three days ago,
adding that it would only do so when a deal was reached.
Iran’s deputy parliament speaker, Hamidreza Haji Babebei, said on the 23rd of April that the first proceeds from the ship fees had already reached the country’s Central Bank. He did not provide further details on the amount collected, how it was paid or who paid the fees. The BBC was unable to confirm Babebei’s statement.
Although Trump has extended the ceasefire by two weeks at the request of Pakistan, the US continues to maintain a naval blockade. The head of the first round of negotiations on the Iranian side, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said that it is impossible to open the strait due to the blockade and violations of the ceasefire.
Trump wrote on his social network Truth Social that US forces are in full control of the Strait of Hormuz, while the Iranians cannot figure out who their leader is.
On the 22nd of April, the Iranian navy reported that it had seized two ships in the strait and taken them to its shores. BBC Verify analyzed a video shot by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that allegedly shows the capture of the two ships, and while both ships, MSC Francesca and Epaminondas, can be clearly identified, the footage appears to have been shot several hours after the alleged seizure took place. Greek authorities have denied that the Epaminondas has been hijacked and said the captain is still in control. However, both ships’ transmitters have been turned off.
Read also: Trump extends ceasefire; US buy time for talks with Iran
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