US forces will pursue Iran-linked ships in distant Middle Eastern waters, said Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, specifically mentioning the Indo-Pacific region.
The region, especially the anchorages in and around the Strait of Malacca, is home to some of the largest concentrations of clandestine fleet oil tankers transporting from countries such as Iran, according to Lloydslist.com.
“We are also conducting similar maritime interdiction actions and activities in the Pacific area of responsibility against ships that left that area before the,” Caine said.
Charlie Brown, senior clandestine fleet tracking consultant at the nonprofit United Against Nuclear Iran and former U.S. Navy officer, told CNN That Caine’s statement and some movements of American warships monitored by tracking platforms suggest that Washington may be considering operations similar to those it used against oil tankers linked to Venezuela during the quarantine imposed on the country earlier this year.
“The U.S. has already intercepted sanctioned oil tankers far from Venezuela’s immediate area, including in the Indian Ocean,” Brown said.
“That’s where I would expect similar activity: in international waters where the U.S. has operational freedom of maneuver and fewer restrictions,” he said.
A CNN contacted the 7th Fleet regarding the movements of the USS Miguel Keith, which, according to satellite images, was heading towards the Strait of Malacca on Thursday (16) local time.
The USS Miguel Keith, a ship almost as large as a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, departed Sasebo, Japan, on April 8.
The ship made a brief stop in Singapore waters this Friday (17), before heading through the Strait of Malacca at night.
It is known as an expeditionary maritime base, and among its missions are aerial mine countermeasures and special operations, according to a Marine Corps statement.
In his Thursday statement, Caine noted the heavy traffic conditions near the Strait of Hormuz, calling it “incredibly congested” and praising U.S. forces for executing in those conditions.
