US forces on Friday (May 8) struck and disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers, accusing them of attempting to violate the American naval blockade of Iran’s ports. Washington has now intercepted four ships that it said were attempting to violate the US restrictions, which have been in place since April 13. This comes as Iranian media reported fresh “sporadic clashes” with the US forces in the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on X, US Central Command said that the vessels, M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda, were entering an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman. CENTCOM enforced blockade measures against the two unladen oil tankers, with F/A-18 Super Hornet from USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) disabling them after firing munitions.
Footage below:
“U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) enforced blockade measures against two Iranian-flagged unladen oil tankers attempting to pull into an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman. A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet from USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) disabled both tankers after firing precision munitions into their smokestacks, preventing the non-compliant ships from entering Iran,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
It added that US forces earlier disabled the Iranian-flagged M/T Hasna on May 6 when it attempted to move towards an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman. The vessel was disabled with an F/A-18 Super Hornet from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72).
“All three vessels are no longer transiting to Iran,” it said.
“U.S. forces in the Middle East remain committed to full enforcement of the blockade of vessels entering or leaving Iran,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander. “Our highly trained men and women in uniform are doing incredible work.”
Since the blockade began, the US forces have disabled several vessels, while more than 50 have been redirected by the CENTCOM forces.
Earlier on April 19, the American forces intercepted and seized the Iranian-flagged M/V Touska after it violated the blockade and ignored multiple warnings from a US destroyer.
Tensions have remained in the West Asian water despite a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran, with both sides enforcing their blockades. Tehran has blocked the most crucial waterway, the Strait of Hormuz, triggering a global energy supply crisis. Meanwhile, peace talks remained stalled.
Trending Stories
Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, the US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.

&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)