The U.S. Military seized two Iranian-linked oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman on March 12, 2025, according to statements from U.S. Central Command.
The vessels, identified as the Suez Rajan and the Andromeda Star, were intercepted by U.S. Navy forces after intelligence indicated they were transporting Iranian crude oil in violation of sanctions, CENTCOM said in a briefing released the same day.
Elisabeth Braw, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Program, explained in an interview with NPR’s Juana Summers that such seizures are part of a broader pattern of using maritime interdiction to pressure Iran’s revenue streams without direct military confrontation.
“Shadow vessels — ships that obscure ownership, disable tracking systems, or fly flags of convenience — have become central to how Iran evades oil sanctions,” Braw said. “The U.S. Is increasingly targeting not just the cargo, but the infrastructure enabling these operations.”
She noted that the Suez Rajan had previously been detained in 2023 off the coast of Texas after discharging sanctioned Iranian cargo, and that its reappearance in Gulf waters suggests a deliberate effort to test enforcement thresholds.
The Andromeda Star, meanwhile, had been flagged by maritime security analysts in January 2025 for irregular AIS behavior consistent with ship-to-ship transfers near the United Arab Emirates, a known hub for sanctioned oil laundering.
Braw emphasized that whereas seizures disrupt short-term flows, they do not halt Iran’s oil exports entirely, as the country continues to rely on a network of intermediaries, front companies, and non-insured vessels operating outside Western regulatory reach.
She added that the effectiveness of such interdictions depends on coordination with allies, particularly in monitoring port calls and insurance documentation, which remain uneven across key flag states like Panama and the Marshall Islands.
The U.S. Has not announced plans to release the seized vessels or their cargo, and CENTCOM declined to specify whether the oil will be offloaded, diverted, or held pending further legal action.
Iran’s foreign ministry has not issued a public response to the seizures as of March 13, 2025, and its mission to the United Nations did not reply to requests for comment.
