U.S. Pressure Campaign Leaves Iranian Tankers Stranded in Asian Waters

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka—Some 15 miles off the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, around 20 empty Iranian oil tankers are stranded, drifting with their engines idled as food, fuel and fresh water run short.

They are the most visible consequence of the new pressure campaign by the U.S. to bring Iran to heel. Dozens of Iranian or Iranian-linked tankers that had participated in the shadowy trade of getting sanctioned oil to China have been stuck in the waters near Asian countries like Sri Lanka and Malaysia since July, when the U.S. reimposed its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Then, in recent weeks, U.S. officials have pressured Sri Lanka into blocking local ships from provisioning the tankers and their crews, according to Sri Lankan government documents and companies that provide provisions to those ships.

The Trump administration is pursuing a hardball strategy aimed at forcing Iran into making concessions in the monthslong conflict. In recent days, the U.S.—which slapped Iran with many new sanctions this summer—has warned Iran’s trading partners to ditch the country.

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