OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
9:40 AM – Thursday, April 23, 2026
The United States military seized another oil tanker allegedly smuggling Iranian crude in the Indian Ocean, shortly after the U.S.-Iranian ceasefire agreement was extended.
On Thursday, the Department of War released video footage showing the tanker, the Majestic X, as U.S. military helicopters flew above, lowering soldiers onto the deck of the vessel.
“We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate,” the Pentagon stated 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.”
This marks the second such operation in the Indian Ocean since the ceasefire extension was announced by President Donald Trump on Tuesday. The agreement was originally meant to last two weeks, though negotiating teams are set to continue discussions in the coming days.
Another tanker, the Tifani, was also seized by U.S. forces in the same area as Majestic X, in the Indo-Pacific Command area of control. Both were operating as “stateless” vessels; however, the former flew the Botswana flag, and the latter flew the Guyana flag.
In addition, Trump announced that the U.S. boarded and seized the sanctioned Touska cargo ship this week, which sailed under the Iranian flag in the Gulf of Oman.
However, Iran also recently claimed responsibility for attacking and seizing several ships. On Wednesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the capture of the MSC-Francesca, which flew the flag of Panama, but Iran suspected to have connections to Israel, and the Epaminondas, under the Liberian flag. The Euphoria, under the Panama flag, was also attacked by the Islamic regime, but it was not confirmed to have been captured.
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