US forces “disabled” a vessel in the Gulf of Oman to enforce a blockade of Iranian ports, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday.
According to the report, the Gambia-flagged Lian Star maritime vessel attempted to enter an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman on 29 May. The military issued more than 20 warnings for violating the blockade.
“A US aircraft disabled the vessel by firing a Hellfire missile into the ship’s engine room after the Lian Star crew failed to comply. The vessel is no longer in transit to Iran,” the report said.
According to CENTCOM, the US military has disabled five commercial vessels and diverted another 116 to enforce the blockade, while a ceasefire agreement with Iran remains in place.
Since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran on 28 February, Tehran has virtually closed the Strait of Hormuz – a key maritime bottleneck – causing oil prices to surge globally.
In April, following a ceasefire agreement and after a round of talks between Iranian and US representatives in Pakistan that failed to produce results, US President Donald Trump ordered the start of a naval blockade of Iran, which is still ongoing.