U.S. Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit boarded and redirected an Iranian-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday as part of an ongoing U.S. Navy blockade targeting vessels linked to Iran, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
The operation involved the M/T Celestial Sea, a 11,479-deadweight-ton product tanker that U.S. officials said was suspected of attempting to evade the blockade while transiting toward an Iranian port.
Marines boarded the vessel, searched it and ordered it to change course before releasing it.
Earlier today in the Gulf of Oman, U.S. Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit boarded M/T Celestial Sea, an Iranian-flagged commercial oil tanker suspected of attempting to violate the U.S. blockade by transiting toward an Iranian port. American forces released the… pic.twitter.com/1AVT0MudKY
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) May 20, 2026
CENTCOM said that since the start of the blockade on vessels entering or departing Iranian ports on April 12, it has redirected 91 commercial ships. U.S. military forces have also disabled four vessels since the start of the operation.
On May 8, a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet launched from the USS George H.W. Bush fired precision munitions at the smokestacks of two Iranian-flagged unladen oil tankers, M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda, as they transited toward an Iranian port.
That action followed a May 6 incident in which an F/A-18 launched from USS Abraham Lincoln fired 20mm cannon rounds at the rudder of the tanker M/T Hasna after it allegedly ignored repeated warnings from U.S. forces.
The boarding of the Celestial Sea came a day after President Donald Trump said he had called off planned kinetic strikes against Iran in hopes of continuing negotiations with the country.
On Wednesday, Trump said he is willing to wait for Iran’s latest response in negotiations with Washington, but only for a limited time.
“If I can save war by waiting a couple of days, if I can save people being killed by waiting a couple of days, I think it’s a great thing to do,” the president told reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday afternoon.
He added that the administration would not wait indefinitely for Tehran’s reply.
Meanwhile, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps warned the U.S. and Israel on Wednesday that any further attacks on Tehran would expand the conflict beyond the Middle East.
🚨BREAKING
IRGC new statement to the enemies of Iran:
“If the aggression against Iran is repeated, the war will be extended outside the Middle East region and our crushing blows will hit you in places you cannot #imagine.”— IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) (@iribnews_irib) May 20, 2026
