India, April 21 -- The US department of defence said on Tuesday that its forces boarded an oil tanker that they say was previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia.

According to a social media post from the Pentagon, the US forces "conducted a right-of-visit maritime interdiction" and boarded the M/T Tifani "without incident." The Pentagon called the vessel "stateless" even though it carried a flag of Botswana.

The move comes amid the US blockade of Iranian ports, which was then extended to all Iranian-flagged ships along with any vessel that provides material support to the country.

This move amid the US-Iran war is claimed to stop any ship tied to Tehran or those suspected of carrying supplies that could help its go...