US military fires missile to disable oil tanker in Arabian Gulf, CENTCOM says

The U.S. military disabled an unladen oil tanker on Tuesday while it was en route to an Iranian port in the Arabian Gulf, U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

In a 20-second video released by CENTCOM, a Hellfire missile is shown striking the tanker’s engine room, disabling the vessel after the crew ignored repeated warnings following the enforcement of an American blockade.

CENTCOM said the crew of the Botswana-flagged M/T Lexie failed “to comply with directions from U.S. forces multiple times over a 24-hour period.”

The incident comes three days after U.S. forces disabled another vessel in the Gulf of Oman that also failed to comply with instructions.

The U.S. launched a maritime blockade on April 17 in response to Iran effectively closing the strait after the war began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28. A fragile ceasefire has held since April 7.

U.S. forces have disabled six commercial vessels and redirected 122 as the ceasefire with Iran continues, CENTCOM said.