The U.S. military said Thursday it disabled an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman for attempting to transport Iranian oil.
U.S. Central Command said the Guinea-Bissau-flagged M/T Jalveer was trying to transport oil from Iran when U.S. aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles into the ship’s engine room.
It was the third tanker disabled by American forces this week, as President Trump tries to squeeze Iran economically with a maritime blockage of its ports.
U.S. forces disabled two Palau-flagged ships. The Marivex violated the blockade by attempting to sail to an Iranian port, and the Settebello tried to transport Iranian oil.
CENTCOM said it has disabled nine vessels that did not comply with the blockade, redirected 135 ships that complied and allowed 42 vessels holding humanitarian aid to pass since the blockade began on April 13.
“The blockade is being enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,” CENTCOM said.
SEE ALSO: Iran, U.S. trade more strikes as Tehran calls ceasefire ‘meaningless’
Mr. Trump hopes his blockade creates economic conditions that force Tehran’s leaders to accept more favorable terms in peace talks.
Those negotiations seem to be on the rocks, however, as the U.S. and Iran start shooting at each other again.
Iran took down an American Apache helicopter earlier this week, so the U.S. retaliated.
U.S. Central Command launched the latest round of what it termed “self-defense strikes” just after midnight on Thursday morning, targeting the cities of Bandar Abbas, Minab and Sirik. Strikes were also reported near Qeshm, located near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday did not indicate that it is prepared to return to last week’s status quo, saying the latest round of U.S. strikes had “effectively rendered the cease-fire of April 8, 2026, meaningless.”
• Vaughn Cockayne contributed to this report.
Contact the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.