US planning to seize Iran-linked oil tankers, commercial ships worldwide in coming days: report

The US is reportedly weighing plans to board and sezie Tehran-linked oil tankers worldwide —  eyeing a dramatic escalation against Iran at sea. 

Those discussions come as tensions spike in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian forces fired on multiple commercial vessels Saturday and declared the vital shipping lane under their “strict control,” the The Wall Street Journal reported.

That saber-rattling sent shipping firms scrambling — just a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted the strait was open for business, a claim President Trump had welcomed.

The USS Spruance (DDG 111) guided-missile destroyer on the open ocean. X / US Central Command

Behind the scenes, US officials say the Pentagon is preparing to intercept and take control of commercial vessels tied to Iran — potentially far beyond the Middle East, the outlet reported.

The strategy is aimed at choking Tehran’s economy — with the hope it forces the Iranian regime to reopen the strait and bend in nuclear talks, according to the report.

Trump said Friday that Iran had agreed to hand over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium — an assertion Iranian officials quickly rejected. Sticking points remain over how long Tehran would halt enrichment and whether it would regain access to billions in frozen funds.

The US has already blocked 23 ships from leaving Iranian ports as part of a growing naval barricade, US Central Command posted on X Saturday. 

Expanding that effort globally would put Iran-linked tankers — including those suspected of hauling weapons or sanction-busting oil — directly in Washington’s crosshairs.

“The US will actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran,” Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine said Thursday, warning that so-called “dark fleet” ships are also fair game.

The stepped-up campaign — dubbed “Economic Fury” by Trump officials — could draw in US forces well beyond the Gulf, according to the Journal.

All of it is unfolding as a fragile cease-fire ticks toward its Wednesday expiration. Recent talks in Pakistan failed to produce a breakthrough, and there’s no date set for a second round.

“The US will actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran,” Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine said. REUTERS

Even so, both sides are hedging.

Iran is believed to still have thousands of short- and medium-range missiles and has begun pulling launchers out of underground storage, though heavy US strikes have dented its ability to quickly rebuild, US officials told the Journal.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said US forces are “maximally postured” if fighting resumes — but officials remain wary of putting boots on the ground.

For now, the White House appears focused on economic pressure.

Iran exports roughly 1.6 million barrels of oil a day — much of it to China through small independent refineries, the outlet reported — making its shipping network a prime target.

The Treasury Department has already rolled out fresh sanctions on ships, companies and figures tied to Iran’s shadow oil trade, while US prosecutors are gearing up to go after anyone caught buying or selling sanctioned crude, according to the report.

The US has already shown it has the capacity to carry out that playbook — tracking and seizing vessels tied to Venezuela in far-flung waters — and officials now appear ready to do the same to Iran.