The US will actively pursue any Iranian-flagged ships or any ships seeking to provide material support to Iran. This includes ships of the "dark fleet" transporting Iranian oil," said US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine.
The "dark fleet" ships are ships operating illegally or illegally, seeking to evade international regulations, sanctions or insurance requirements," Caine added.
The new US campaign, partly implemented by the US Indo-Pacific Command, will be part of a larger campaign led by US President Donald Trump targeting Iran, called "Economic Fury".
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly shared that President Donald Trump is "optimistic" that the new measures will lead to a peace agreement.
The potential military action of the US takes place in the context of Iran tightening control of the Strait of Hormuz, including attacking several ships on the morning of April 18.
The Wall Street Journal news also reported that the US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that Washington had forced 23 ships to turn around when trying to leave Iranian ports since the start of blockading the Strait of Hormuz.
Expanding naval operations out of the Middle East will help the US increase leverage with Iran, by controlling more oil or weapons tankers heading towards Iran.
This is a maximum approach. If you want to put strong pressure on Iran, you will use all available legal grounds" - Law Associate Professor at Emory University Law School, Mr. Mark Nevitt, said.
Previously, on the same day, April 18, Iran announced that it had regained military control of the Strait of Hormuz and would maintain this until the US ensures full freedom of navigation for ships entering and leaving Iran.
As long as the US does not fully guarantee freedom of navigation for ships entering and leaving Iran, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will continue to be tightly controlled" - the Iranian military declared.
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei also posted a message on Telegram warning the Iranian navy to be ready to deploy strong measures against opponents.
