Donald Trump is stepping up his push to cut off Iran from using the Strait of Hormuz by seizing another tanker caught smuggling the regime's oil just one day after Tehran seized two vessels of its own.
The Pentagon on Thursday released video of US naval forces boarding the oil tanker Majestic X in the Indian Ocean. The ship was reportedly carrying oil produced by the Iranian regime.
'We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate,' the Pentagon wrote on X.
The video captures the moment US helicopters deployed armed troops on the ship's deck.
The Pentagon warned that sanctioned actors cannot use international waters as cover, vowing to keep blocking 'illicit actors and their vessels' from operating freely at sea.
A day prior, Iran had retaliated against Trump's naval blockade of Hormuz by attacking three oil tankers and seizing two vessels.
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) April 23, 2026Overnight, U.S. forces carried out a maritime interdiction and right-of-visit boarding of the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T Majestic X transporting oil from Iran, in the Indian Ocean within the INDOPACOM area of responsibility.
We will continue global maritime enforcement to… pic.twitter.com/SWF6Jt9Ci4