US Fires Missiles at Ship Violating Iranian Port Blockade

United States forces have fired missiles at a ship attempting to sail towards an Iranian port, with the US stating that the vessel’s actions violated the American blockade of the Iranian port.

According to AFP on Wednesday (3/6/2026), the US forcibly intercepted six ships attempting to breach the blockade, which has been in effect since 13 April. The M/T Lexie, an unladen oil tanker flying the flag of Botswana, reportedly “ignored repeated warnings” for 24 hours. US fighter jets “eventually disabled the vessel by firing Hellfire missiles into the ship’s engine room,” according to a statement from the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM). It remains unconfirmed whether there were any casualties resulting from the attack.

On Friday (29/5), US military forces also disabled a cargo ship flying the Gambian flag after it attempted to violate the Iranian port blockade regulations. On 8 May, US forces shot at the funnels of two Iranian-flagged tankers, while a fighter jet disabled another Iranian-flagged vessel on 6 May. Additionally, on 19 April, an Iranian-flagged ship attempted to breach the blockade and ignored several warnings from US warships; the US warship ordered the crew to evacuate the engine room before the vessel was struck by missiles.

Iranian forces have effectively closed the vital Strait of Hormuz, a primary route for oil and gas shipments. This closure was implemented by Iran in response to attacks by the US and Israel. The US subsequently announced the blockade of Iranian ports following the failure of peace talks in Pakistan in April.