Operation Economic Fury began with the blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz before expanding to ships providing support to the Iranian regime in international waters.
The United States has initiated a new phase of its war with Iran, intercepting and seizing ships attempting to break its blockade of Iranian ships or providing material support for the regime in a pressure campaign labeled Operation Economic Fury, as detailed in a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday.
Operation Economic Fury began with a full blockade of Iranian ports, with the US utilizing naval forces and aircraft to enforce the measure. It was announced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week at a Pentagon press conference with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine.
Ships attempting to evade the blockade are contacted by US forces, and if the crew does not comply with directions, the ship is disabled and boarded, the report explained.
The US conducted such an operation on Sunday, boarding the Iranian-flagged tanker Touska. According to the WSJ, the Touska was carrying approximately two million barrels of Iranian oil from Kharg Island when it attempted to break through the blockade.
The operation shortly expanded beyond the Strait of Hormuz to ships providing support to the Iranian regime, with the US conducting a similar "maritime interdiction and boarding" of a stateless vessel tied to Iranian smuggling activity in the Indo-Pacific area.
The Pentagon announced on Tuesday that the M/T Tifani was intercepted by US INDOPACOM, which is responsible for the Indian and Pacific oceans and surrounding areas.
Economic Fury may resemble US operations against Venezuela
The WSJ stated that this expansion has the potential to resemble previous US operations targeting Venezuela-tied dark fleet vessels, during which ships in the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Caribbean were similarly seized.
The US Department of Defense, State Department, and Treasury Department are working together on Economic Fury, the White House told WSJ, exerting economic pressure on Iran as US-Iran ceasefire negotiations continue.
Economic sanctions launched by the Treasury Department, paired with the blockade and seizure of Iran-linked vessels, aim to cut off Iran’s ability to export oil as a means of funding its war efforts, the WSJ noted.
A separate WSJ report noted that the operation could cost up to $400 million dollars a day, according to some estimates.
US President Donald Trump is hopeful that the pressure campaign will help facilitate an agreement, the White House added.
James Genn and Reuters contributed to this report.