Washington, USA — The United States has stepped up military operations against Iran after enforcing its renewed naval blockade and launching another round of airstrikes targeting Iranian military sites.
In a latest statement, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces disabled a Curacao-flagged commercial oil tanker that was attempting to sail toward Iran’s Kharg Island despite repeated warnings.
According to CENTCOM, the vessel ignored orders to turn away and was struck by Hellfire missiles, disabling the ship before it could reach an Iranian port.
The incident came after the first 24 hours of Washington’s renewed blockade on vessels traveling to or from Iranian ports, which officially took effect on July 14.
CENTCOM said it has redirected two compliant commercial vessels and disabled one non-compliant vessel during the time period.
Meanwhile, the CENTCOM also confirmed it launched a three wave of strikes on Wednesday, targeting Iranian military capabilities it said were being used to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Last week, US commenced its full force strikes against Iran. The same week where Trump stated that their Memorandum of Understanding with Iran is over.
On the other side, reports shared that Iran troops had launched attacks against US military assets in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan.