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U.S. Seizes First Iranian-Linked Ship Outside The Middle East Region Since Epic Fury Began
For the first time since at least the launch of Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, an Iranian-linked vessel was interdicted in the Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) region, the Pentagon confirmed to The War Zone. The boarding of the Botswana-flagged oil tanker M/T Tifani came just days after Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine told reporters, including from The War Zone, that the U.S. would “actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran” anywhere in the world. The move also follows the U.S. firing on and seizing the Iranian cargo ship Touska on Sunday in the Arabian Sea.
Meanwhile, as the clock ticks down toward the end of a fragile ceasefire between the U.S and Iran, the future of peace negotiations remains very much uncertain, which we will discuss later in this story.
“Overnight, U.S. forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the stateless sanctioned M/T Tifani without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility,” the Pentagon stated Tuesday morning on X. “As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran—anywhere they operate. International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels. The Department of War will continue to deny illicit actors and their vessels freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain.”
Video released by the Pentagon shows about two dozen armed troops boarding two MH-60S Seahawk helicopters on a U.S. Navy Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) ship. The video then cuts to the troops repelling onto the deck of the Tifani and searching that vessel.
The Pentagon did not say where the incident took place, however, according to MarineTraffic.com, the Tifani was last located yesterday in the Indian Ocean, about halfway between Sri Lanka and Indonesia and some 2,000 miles southeast of Iran.
The Pentagon told us that “multiple agencies” played a role in seizing the ship. We have reached out for additional details.
Gregory Brew, Senior Analyst, Iran and Oil for Eurasia Group, stated on X that the Tifani departed from Iran’s Kharg Island on April 5 and that the ship appears to have continued sailing on after the boarding. We asked the Pentagon for more details about the ship’s disposition and they referred us to the White House, which sent us back to the Pentagon.
The ship was sanctioned under a 2018 executive order issued by President Donald Trump during his first term designed to counter Iranian malign activities and prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
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The status of peace talks in Pakistan remains murky. While Vice President JD Vance and other top officials are expected to leave for the negotiations today, Iranian officials have yet to officially commit. The main sticking points remain the future of Iran’s highly enriched uranium, the Strait of Hormuz, the status of its ballistic missile inventory and support for proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis of Yemen.
“A diplomatic source in Pakistan says no diplomatic delegation from Iran has been dispatched to Islamabad ‘so far,’” the official Iranian IRNA news agency stated on Tuesday. “In response to speculations about possible negotiations in Pakistan, a diplomatic source told IRNA on Tuesday that no delegation from Iran has arrived in the Pakistani capital.”
The source clarified that “neither official nor unofficial information has been received regarding any Iranian involvement in the negotiations in Islamabad.”
In a brief phone call, Trump told CNBC host Joe Kernan he thinks the U.S. is “going to end up with a great deal” with Iran to end the war, even as he said he does not expect to extend a ceasefire due to expire on Wednesday.
“I think they have no choice,” Trump said during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” when asked what he expected to come out of a second round of peace negotiations with Iran. “We’ve taken out their navy, we’ve taken out their air force, we’ve taken out their leaders.”
The president added that he is ready to resume the conflict if a deal with Iran does not appear in the offing.
“Well, I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with – but we’re ready to go,” Trump answered when asked if he needs at least the prospect for a signed deal either today or tomorrow.
Trump also said “I don’t want to do that,” when asked if he would extend the ceasefire beyond tomorrow if talks with Iran appear promising.
Iran is banking on “market meltdowns” and domestic economic pressures to get Trump to back down on his demands, Fox News reporter Trey Yingst suggested Tuesday morning.
“Iran sees this as a game of endurance. They believe that time is on their side and that ultimately the domestic pressure, when it comes to energy markets and the stock market, will force President Trump to make a deal that’s in their favor,” he explained. “That is not the truth. That is not the reality…The president and his counterparts in Israel have the ability to continue this operation for months if they need to.”
Trump is “misleading” the world about “conditions on the ground,” Iran’s top military operational commander claimed.
“Holding the upper hand, the Armed Forces do not allow the lying and delusional president of the United States to exploit the situation or fabricate false narratives about conditions on the ground, particularly regarding the management and control of the Strait of Hormuz, during periods of silence in military confrontation,” proffered Major General Ali Abdollahi, commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which is responsible for coordinating operations between the country’s Army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
Abollahi added that the Armed Forces “will duly respond to any breach of commitments” by the “adversaries,” a reference to the U.S. firing on and seizing the Iranian cargo ship Touska on Sunday.
Though the status of the peace talks is unclear, Pakistan has emerged as a winner on the world stage. However, it is an unlikely mediator, The Washington Post notes.
“Pakistan does not formally recognize Israel, one of the key countries involved,” the Post posited. “It became a nuclear power in secret, as the U.S. and Israel have accused Iran of seeking to do. And it did not start off on the right foot with President Donald Trump, who in his first term said Pakistan had given Washington ‘nothing but lies and deceit.”
But over the past year, “a focused campaign to win Trump’s favor appears to have paid off,” the newspaper added. “For months, Pakistan’s leaders wooed the Trump administration with flashy deals and public praise.”
“We read him right,” said Mushahid Hussain Syed, the former chairman of the Pakistani Senate’s Defense Committee. He said Pakistan recognized Trump’s transactional approach to diplomacy early.
“We delivered, and we delivered big time,” Syed said. “We gave him the three C’s: crypto, critical minerals and counterterrorism.”
Recent events in and around the Strait of Hormuz – including the IRGC opening then closing the narrow body of water, its attack on several foreign vessels and the U.S. seizure of an Iranian cargo ship – are creating further instability in the world energy markets, according to global market intelligence firm Kpler.
Shipping giant Maersk is urging ships to avoid the region.
“Volatility persists in the situation,” the company stated. “In coordination with our security partners, we have assessed that as of now, transit through the Strait should be avoided. We will continue monitoring developments and provide updates as clarity improves.”
The International Maritime Organization is “working on an evacuation plan for hundreds of ships that have been stuck in the Persian Gulf since US and Israeli strikes on Iran began more than seven weeks ago,” Bloomberg News reports, citing Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez.
The plan can only be put into action when there are clear signs of de-escalation, Dominguez said on the sidelines of Singapore Maritime Week on Tuesday. The United Nations agency would also need to ascertain if mines had been laid in the strait before sending ships through, he said.
Around 800 ships remain stuck in the Persian Gulf after traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed to a trickle following the outbreak of the war. Tehran’s threats and attacks on vessels had made most shipowners too nervous to attempt a transit, although the Islamic Republic had been allowing some vessels that followed approved routes to exit, and demanding payment in some cases.
The U.S. blockade of Iranian ports on April 13 — aimed at depriving Iran of revenue for the war — has made the situation even more perilous.
Even if the war ended today and the Strait was reopened, it will likely take several months – and maybe even into next year – for U.S. domestic gasoline prices to drop back down to pre-war levels, Axios noted.
There is disagreement on this even in Washington. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNN Sunday that gas might not drop all the way down to the pre-war level — just under $3 per gallon — until next year. President Trump, for his part, appeared to contradict Wright in comments to The Hill Monday, seeing a faster drop.
However, researchers and analysts Axios interviewed “see slower price drops — pretty close to Wright’s prediction,” the outlet posited.
“Even in the most optimistic of these scenarios, in which flows through Hormuz recover quickly with no restrictions, U.S. retail gasoline prices are likely to face an uphill battle to return to pre-war levels until 2027,” Rob Smith, S&P Global director of refining and marketing, told Axios.
China is lowering domestic retail gasoline and diesel price caps, Reuters reported. This marks its first cut this year as global oil prices retreated from their peaks of the Iran war.
The price drop “will save a private car owner about $3.23 to fill a 50-litre tank of 92-octane gasoline,” the outlet noted. “High gasoline and diesel prices have sharply curbed retail consumption, leading to a surge in inventories at independent refineries and prompting widespread wholesale price cuts to clear stocks, Chinese consultancy Oilchem said.”
Iraqi militias backed by Iran launched dozens of explosive drones at Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states during more than five weeks of fighting, in what is becoming a shadowy war within a war pushing some of the world’s largest oil producers toward open conflict, according to The Wall Street Journal.
According to at least one Saudi assessment described by a person familiar with it, up to half of the nearly 1,000 drone attacks on the kingdom came from inside Iraq, the publication pointed out.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com
YFQ-44 Fury Fighter Drone Wraps Contested Operations Test That Could Accelerate Its Fielding
- YFQ-44 Fury drone completes critical test. The U.S. Air Force concluded a key exercise with a YFQ-44 Fury prototype at Edwards Air Force Base to test its deployment in contested environments.
- Warfighting Acquisition System aims for speed. The exercise tested a framework to accelerate CCA deployment, allowing operators to refine tactics early.
- Operators used Menace-T system. The system enabled autonomous operations from a simulated forward base, aligning with Agile Combat Employment concepts.
- CCAs to enhance combat capabilities. The Air Force sees CCAs as vital for extending sensor coverage and adding combat mass in high-end conflicts.
Bottom line: The YFQ-44 Fury drone’s recent test at Edwards Air Force Base marks a significant step in the Air Force’s efforts to rapidly field combat-ready CCAs. This exercise focused on operational integration and logistical challenges, aiming to enhance the Air Force’s capabilities in contested environments.
The U.S. Air Force has concluded what it describes as a “critical exercise” with Anduril’s YFQ-44 Fury ‘fighter drone’ prototype, flown out of the base that is the heart of flight testing, the legendary Edwards Air Force Base, California. The drills involved the Air Force’s Experimental Operations Unit and were intended to demonstrate how CCAs can be deployed and sustained in a contested environment. For the exercise, the YFQ-44A flew from Edwards back to Anduril’s Southern California test site.
As well as the Experimental Operations Unit (EOU), which falls under Air Combat Command (ACC), the exercise involved personnel from Air Force Materiel Command’s (AFMC) 412th Test Wing. This wing is headquartered at Edwards Air Force Base, and the squadrons attached to it are responsible for flight testing of virtually all the aircraft in the Air Force’s inventory.
Multiple sorties were flown — we have asked Air Combat Command for more details on exactly how many and their scope. The exercise took place last week, according to Anduril’s vice president of autonomous airpower, Mark Shushnar.
The YFQ-44 is one of two designs now being developed as part of the first phase, or Increment 1, of the Air Force’s CCA program. The other is General Atomics’ YFQ-42A Dark Merlin. We have reached out to Edwards to see whether the YFQ-42 was originally expected to take part in the exercise before its recent takeoff accident.
Imagery published by the Air Force shows a YFQ-44A carrying inert AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) on pylons under the wings, something that we first saw earlier this year, during captive-carry evaluations, as you can read about here. It should be noted that the Fury, at least as it exists now, does not have an internal munitions bay.
The primary function of the exercise was to explore the practicalities of what the Air Force calls the Warfighting Acquisition System. This framework is intended to speed the delivery of CCAs to operational units by enabling operators to get their hands on the drones earlier in the program. In this way, they can refine tactics and procedures before deliveries to the front line.
ACC has stressed in the past how it wants CCAs to operate seamlessly within the existing command structures and legal frameworks that govern all Air Force weapons systems.
“This experimental operations event was executed by EOU members from start to finish. Every sortie generated and flown was done with a warfighter, not an engineer or test pilot, kicking the tires and controlling the prototypes,” explained Lt. Col. Matthew Jensen, EOU commander. “We are learning by doing, at a speed and risk tolerance accepted by the USAF’s most senior leaders, to ensure CCA is ready to operate and win in the most demanding combat environments.”
Above all, the sorties stressed operational and logistical procedures for using CCAs in a contested environment. The issue of logistics is a critical one, including how CCAs will get to the area of operations and how they will be maintained in the field.
According to Shushnar, Anduril’s Menace-T command, control, communications, and compute (C4) solution was used as the main ground element for YFQ-44A flight operations during the exercise. “EOU operators used Menace-T’s ruggedized laptop to upload mission plans, initiate autonomous taxi and takeoff, task the aircraft while in flight, and manage post-flight data ingestion and checks,” he explained. “That enabled the EOU to conduct operations out of a simulated forward operating base, successfully launching, recovering, and turning YFQ-44A without the infrastructure of a large, established base.”
This is entirely in line with the Air Force’s drive toward short-notice and otherwise irregular deployments, often to remote, austere, or otherwise non-traditional locales. Agile Combat Employment (ACE) is the term the service currently uses to describe a set of concepts for distributed and disaggregated operations.
While the warfighters of the EOU were at Edwards to carry out the practical aspects of CCA employment, exploring tactics, techniques, and procedures, the 412th Test Wing, meanwhile, was on hand to gather data from the test events.
“By uniting the distinct test authorities of AFMC and the operational authorities of ACC, officials were able to fast-track the event, enabling groundbreaking, hands-on experimentation by operators at a uniquely early stage of development,” the Air Force explained in a media release.
“The collaboration we saw in this exercise is the cornerstone of our acquisition transformation. By embedding the operators from the EOU with our acquisition professionals, we create a tight feedback loop that lets us trade operational risk with acquisition risk in real-time,” said Col. Timothy Helfrich, portfolio acquisition executive for fighters and advanced aircraft. “This isn’t just a test; it’s a demonstration of how we are adopting a more agile process. An 85 percent solution in the hands of a warfighter today is infinitely better than a 100 percent solution that never arrives.”
The CCA program is viewed as a pathfinder for the Warfighting Acquisition System, and success with this could lead to the same approach being employed to get other systems into operational service much more quickly than in the past.
The Air Force has not yet determined whether it will procure one or both Increment 1 CCA designs at scale. Whichever option it selects is expected to become its first operational “fighter drones,” built to carry live munitions into combat alongside crewed aircraft.
CCAs will also extend the sensor coverage of the crewed fighters they accompany. More broadly, the Air Force views them as a way to add vital combat mass and unlock new tactical options, particularly in high-end conflicts against adversaries like China. Back in late 2024, Brig. Gen. Douglas “Beaker” Wickert, commander of the 412th Test Wing, told TWZ that, “[the-then Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall] “has been very clear that we are out of time, that our Air Force has never been older or smaller than it is right now, and that the People’s Liberation Army has been specifically designed to defeat us.”
“The investments we’re making right now in modernization and testing for the USAF are designed for success and aimed at changing Chairman Xi’s calculus about pushing back aggressively against the international rules-based order. What we are doing here and across USAF flight-testing is extremely consequential.”
Since then, Wickert has moved on to become Director of Air, Space and Cyberspace Operations at AFMC, but the test wing’s remit remains the same. Meanwhile, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force has doubled down on its rapid expansion, including many of its own CCA programs.
If all goes to plan, the completion of this recent exercise at Edwards could well be a key milestone in fielding a combat-ready force of CCAs and go some way toward realizing the Air Force’s ambition for a new capability that should extend the reach and the survivability of its crewed aircraft.
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com