washington, April 22 -- The US government said it stopped and boarded a sanctioned oil tanker in its campaign to disrupt Iran's shipping network, the first such intervention since the imposition of a blockade just over a week ago. American forces conducted a "right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding" of the stateless vessel - the M/T Tifani - the Pentagon said in a social media post on Tuesday. It described the Tifani as "stateless" despite it being a Botswana-flagged vessel. It marks an escalation of tactics as Washington pressures the Islamic Republic ahead of planned talks aimed at ending a seven-week conflict that has roiled global markets. "We will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and int...