[78424] Reports: United States blocked an attempt by Iranian oil tankers to breach sanctions

Maritime tension: Iranian oil tankers blocked in export attempt

Reports that emerged on May 31, 2026, indicate that four oil tankers belonging to the National Iranian Tanker Company failed in their attempt to sail out of Iranian waters. According to TankerTrackers, as published in Iran International, the tankers carry a total capacity of about ten million barrels of crude oil but were forced to turn back in the last two days.

Various sources identified with Iranian news channels, including خبرفوری ࡆ اخبارفوری مذاکره ࡆ جنگ فوری, claim that the incident serves as evidence of an Iranian failure to break the American blockade. Those same channels, which emphasize a narrative of struggle against American policy, even claimed that U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported the return of 118 Iranian commercial vessels and even the seizure of five of them, although this official statement by Central Command was not noted in mainstream Western sources.

Iran International, identified as a media outlet critical of the regime in Tehran, notes that visual analysis of maritime movements indicates that the tankers "ظاهراً مجبور به بازگشت شده‌اند" (apparently were forced to return). Sources reporting via اخبارفوری خبرفوری جنگ امریکا حمله added that this was an "attempt to breach" the economic sanctions imposed on the Ayatollah regime, an attempt thwarted by United States maritime enforcement in the Gulf region.