US military disables non-compliant oil tanker in the Persian Gulf

United States Central Command announced Wednesday afternoon that American troops disabled an oil tanker that was in non-compliance after American forces spotted the ship moving toward an Iranian port in the Persian Gulf.

The action comes after the U.S. reinstated a Naval blockade on all ships traveling to and from an Iranian port without authorization on Tuesday. CENTCOM said that during the first 24-hours of the blockade resuming, it had to redirect two compliant commercial vessels and disabled one non-compliant vessel.

CENTCOM said the latest military action was on an oil tanker that was transiting international waters toward Iran's Kharg Island. The vessel was flagged to Curacao and the U.S. prevented the tanker from transiting to Iran. 

"The commercial vessel ignored multiple warnings as it attempted to violate the U.S. blockade," CENTCOM said in a statement. "A U.S. aircraft disabled the vessel after firing hellfire missiles into the ship’s smokestack ... U.S. forces remain vigilant and prepared to ensure full compliance."

The strikes also come the same day that the U.S. military launched two rounds of strikes on Iran, which targeted Iranian military capabilities used to threaten vessels freely transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.

Fighting in the region resumed this week after negotiations failed to end the war. The conflict was in a state of nominal ceasefire for months and, in June, the U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to extend the ceasefire by 60 days.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.