The US Department of Defence says US forces overnight conducted a maritime interdiction in the Indian Ocean and boarded an unsanctioned vessel with no nationality carrying oil from Iran.
“International waters cannot be used as a shield by sub-sanctioned entities,” the ministry wrote on social media X on 23 April, saying US forces “will continue to deny illegal actors and their vessels the ability to operate freely in maritime space.”
The United States has intercepted dozens of vessels since the naval blockade of Iranian ports began on 13 April. According to the U.S. Central Command, U.S. forces have ordered 31 vessels to turn around or return to port as part of the naval blockade of Iran.
On 23 April, an oil market data analysis company reported that “more than 10 million barrels of Iranian oil have left the Persian Gulf since the U.S. military blockade of Iranian ports began.”
Citing Vortexa’s estimate, Reuters reported that between 13 and 21 April, approximately 10.7 million barrels of Iranian oil were shipped in and out of the Strait of Hormuz. It is noted that this amount of oil was transported by six tankers.
Iran’s chief negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf criticised the US blockade of Iranian ports amid uncertainty over the prospects for further peace talks with the United States, reiterating Tehran’s claim that the restriction is a violation of the ceasefire the countries agreed on earlier in April.
Qalibaf added that “the restoration of the Strait of Hormuz is impossible with such a blatant violation of the ceasefire.”