U.S. Navy Destroyer Prevents Two Oil Tankers from Leaving Iran
The U.N. Navy is aggressively enforcing the blockade against Iran, according to a U.S. official who said two oil tankers attempting to leave Iran were intercepted and turned away by a U.S. destroyer on Tuesday.
The anonymous American official said Reuters that two oil tankers left the Iranian port of Chabahar, in the Gulf of Oman, only to be intercepted by a US Navy destroyer which radioed them to turn around. Both ships complied with the order.
Chabahar is a port city on the southeastern coast of Iran. It was originally built in 1983 to provide Iran with alternatives to shipping via the Persian Gulf during the long and bloody Iran-Iraq War.
In recent years, the Indian government has invested around $500 million to expand Chabahar’s two main port complexes, providing them with more deep-water berths for large cargo ships.
These investments have been made in concert with India’s development of a railway through Afghanistan intended to connect Chabahar to internal destinations that India cannot reach without passing through Pakistan or the disputed Kashmir region – just as China is using the proposed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) under its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to route Chinese exports to the Gulf of Oman.
In the summer of 2025, India seemed liquidate its interests in Chabahar, shortly before the United States imposed heavy sanctions on the port city. The United States has granted India a six-month waiver of sanctions against Chabahar – and that waiver is set to expire in less than two weeks.
Some analysts view the April 26 sanctions expiration date as a countdown to India’s hopes of conservation its huge investments in Chabahar by entering into a long-term sanctions-lift deal with the United States, or possibly hoping that the United States will lift sanctions on Iran as part of a peace deal.
Last week, after the United States temporarily lifted sanctions on Iranian oil for ships already laden with product, India granted special permission granted to four US-sanctioned ships to dock at Indian ports to sell their cargo. India’s usual seaworthiness requirements were waived to allow a hasty docking. Two of these ships appear to come from Chabahar.
The Reuters report did not specify whether any of the vessels intercepted by the U.S. Navy on Tuesday were linked to India. The Pentagon did not respond to a request for more details on Fox News Wednesday.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed Tuesday, that “US Navy guided-missile destroyers are part of the assets executing a blockade mission affecting Iranian ports.”
“The blockade is applied impartially to ships of all nations entering or leaving Iranian coastal areas or ports,” CENTCOM said.
“A typical destroyer has a crew of more than 300 highly trained sailors to conduct offensive and defensive maritime operations,” the statement added, perhaps as a fair warning to “ghost fleet” tankers planning to circumvent the blockade with their usual tactics false identities and position broadcasts.
Ship tracking data from the first full day of the blockade Tuesday suggested that a few ships in the Ghost Fleet might have thought about challenging the blockade, but turned back when they approached these US Navy destroyers.
Noam Raydan of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy told Reuters on Tuesday that it was too early to say whether any ships had managed to circumvent the blockade by “going dark.”
“We don’t know yet how effective it is. We’re still on day two,” Raydan said.
THE Jerusalem Post Wednesday suggested a complex geopolitical game is being played with the blockade, in which the U.S. Navy would perhaps choose to be a little less vigilant about China-linked ships in order to avoid the high political tensions that would result from boarding or attacking them.
For example, the Jerusalem Post analysts believe the China-linked tanker Rich starry, who made a highly visible U-turn away from the US Navy blockade line on Tuesday, tried again later on Tuesday night and was able to slip through – or was quietly allowed to pass.
“The ghost fleet transporting Iranian oil was built for exactly this game: false flags, spoofed transponders and ship-to-ship transfers off the coast of Malaysia,” the report notes.
“China’s customs records show no imports from Iran since 2022, but its recorded imports of ‘Malaysian’ crude in 2025 reached 1.3 million barrels per day, more than double Malaysia’s total production. This evasion network has been operating for years,” he observes.
THE Jerusalem Post He nevertheless concluded that Chinese shipments of Iranian oil would be reduced to a trickle because of the blockade, and Beijing does not appear to intend to force a confrontation with the United States by openly challenging it, so China is unlikely to come to Iran’s aid.
