A US aircraft fired on and disabled an unladen oil tanker Wednesday as it tried to break the naval blockade of Iran's ports, the US military said.
The aircraft "disabled the vessel after firing Hellfire missiles into the ship's smokestack. The ship is no longer transiting to Iran," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X, identifying the tanker as the Curacao-flagged M/T Belma.
It was the first time the United States has forcibly halted a vessel since reinstating the ports blockade at 2000 GMT on Tuesday.
CENTCOM also said it had "redirected two compliant commercial vessels" in the first 24 hours of enforcing the blockade.
At 3 p.m. ET, U.S. forces launched operations for a second wave of strikes today against Iran. The strikes are targeting Iranian military capabilities used to threaten vessels freely transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, an international waterway vital to global commerce. The…
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 15, 2026
US forces previously blockaded Iranian ports from April 13 to June 18, during which time they disabled nine ships and redirected more than 140, according to CENTCOM.
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