Trump prioritises diplomacy with Iran, US seizes sanctioned oil tanker

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump’s first option with Tehran remains diplomacy, but he has made clear he is willing to employ lethal force if necessary, his spokeswoman said on Tuesday, as his top diplomat prepared to brief Congress on Iran later in the day.

“President Trump’s first option is always diplomacy. But as he has shown … he is willing to use the lethal force of the United States military if necessary,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

“The president is always the final decision maker around here.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to brief top congressional leaders, known as the Gang of Eight, at the White House, according to the State Department. Rubio is expected to update lawmakers on the latest developments in Iran, a source familiar with the matter said.

The United States has deployed a substantial naval force near the Iranian coast ahead of potential military strikes. Trump, speaking on February 19, said he was giving Tehran roughly 10 to 15 days to reach a deal over its nuclear programme. The president may also address the issue during his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night.

In parallel, the US military has intensified enforcement of sanctions on Venezuela-linked vessels, seizing a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from Caribbean waters, the Pentagon said Tuesday. The vessel, named the Bertha, marked the third interdiction in the region in recent weeks.

The Bertha, flagged under the Cook Islands and linked to Shanghai Legendary Ship Management Company Limited, fell under sanctions imposed in January 2020 by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. The tanker had departed Venezuelan waters in early January carrying around 1.9 million barrels of Merey heavy crude bound for China, according to reports from Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.

In a statement posted on X, the Pentagon said US forces conducted a “right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the Bertha without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility.” The department accused the vessel of defying President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned ships in the Caribbean.

“From the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, we tracked it and stopped it. Three boats ran and now all three have been captured,” the Pentagon added, referencing previous seizures including the Suezmax tanker Aquila II and Veronica III in February.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth previously noted that these vessels were either directly under US sanctions or part of a “shadow fleet” of ships attempting to disguise their origins to move oil from sanctioned producers, including Iran, Russia and Venezuela.

The Pentagon stressed that “international waters are not a refuge for sanctioned actors. By land, air, or sea, our forces will find you and deliver justice.”

The coordinated surge in both Iran and Venezuela signals a growing US readiness to enforce sanctions and, if necessary, employ military power to uphold its strategic objectives.

While diplomacy remains the stated preference, the Trump administration’s actions underscore a willingness to back words with force across multiple theatres.