U.S. military fires on oil tanker attempting to "violate" Iran ports blockade

Alsharq Tribune-Ahmed Essam 

 U.S. forces on Wednesday fired missiles on and disabled an unladen oil tanker attempting to sail toward an Iranian port in the Arabian Gulf, the U.S. Central Command said.

The commercial vessel, identified as Curacao-flagged M/T Belma, "ignored multiple warnings as it attempted to violate the U.S. blockade," the command said in a post on social media.

A U.S. aircraft disabled the vessel sailing toward Kharg Island after firing hellfire missiles into the ship's smokestack, it added. "The ship is no longer transiting to Iran."

U.S. forces reimposed its naval blockade against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas on Tuesday.

The U.S. military on Wednesday conducted two waves of strikes against Iran, the U.S. Central Command said earlier.