A WSJ report Tuesday afternoon has revealed that the US seized an "Iran-linked ship" in the Indian Ocean overnight, which had not previously been revealed, at a moment President Trump is threatening to resume airstrikes on Iran, but has given a few more 'days' for Tehran to come to the table.
"The tanker, called Skywave, was sanctioned by the US in March for its role in transporting Iranian oil," the report says. These kind of high seas interdictions are happening with semi-regularity at this point, especially in waters of south and southeast Asia. The report details:
Ship-tracking data showed it sailing just west of Malaysia on Tuesday after transiting the Malacca Strait. The ship was likely loaded with more than a million barrels of crude at Iran’s Kharg Island in February, according to brokers and data from Lloyds List Intelligence.
It marks at least the third time the U.S. has seized an oil tanker in connection with its crackdown of Iran-linked shadow-fleet vessels.
Meanwhile, also on Tuesday VP JD Vance had a meeting with the president related to the Iran crisis, and engaged in another testy exchange with the media:
Update(1140ET): President Trump has on Tuesday while fielding questions from reporters repeated his line that Iran is 'begging' for a deal. "They're begging to make a deal. I hope we don't have to do the war, but we may have to give them another big hit. We may have to give them another big hit. You'll know very soon."
His threat to give them another "big hit" was coupled with the assertion that he was just one hour away from ordering new attacks on Iran Monday, but was asked by Gulf allies to given diplomacy just a little longer:
Trump: "I was an hour away" from striking Iran on Monday.
There was also the below moment where he again talked timeline, saying he's ready to resume military action in a few 'days' if Iran doesn't comply:
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