Washington’s tough stance against Tehran’s oil exports continues. The latest incident concerns the VLCC Tifani, a vessel whose flag remains a mystery, but which is very well known to OFAC (the Office of Foreign Assets Control). According to AIS data, the vessel was boarded by US forces halfway between Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The mission aims to disrupt the transport network that circumvents the economic sanctions imposed by the United States, confirming the high level of military surveillance on suspicious cargoes from Iran.
“Overnight, US forces conducted a right-of-visit maritime interdiction” on the sanctioned, stateless vessel Tifani, “without incident,” the Department of War stated in its social media post.
“As we have made clear” – the post continues – ” we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran — anywhere they operate,”
“International waters,” the Department of War emphasises, “are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels.” The Department of War will continue to deny illicit actors and their vessels the freedom to maneuver in the maritime domain.”
Translation by Giles Foster
