U.S. operations against Iran expand to Indian Ocean with tanker capture

Democracy Dies in DarknessThe ship’s seizure follows a Trump administration directive to interdict sanctioned vessels believed to be involved in smuggling Iranian oil.April 21, 2026 at 4:52 p.m. EDT9 minutes agoGen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, displays a map showing the U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz during a news briefing at the Pentagon last week. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) and U.S. naval operations against Iran have expanded beyond the Middle East, as U.S. forces on Tuesday seized a tanker ship suspected of smuggling oil in the Indian Ocean and escorted at least one other vessel off India’s western coast, officials said.