US Disables Iran-Bound Oil Tanker in Gulf of Oman

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that American forces disabled an empty oil tanker bound for an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman.

According to CENTCOM’s statement, the Palau-flagged oil tanker M/T Marivex was targeted on June 8 while transiting international waters in the Gulf of Oman toward Iran. The military body stated that the vessel had violated the naval blockade imposed against Iran by attempting to sail toward an Iranian port.

CENTCOM stated that after the ship’s crew refused to comply with orders from US forces, an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet stationed on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln targeted the ship’s technical sections and guidance system with a precision-guided munition.

CENTCOM also announced that since the beginning of the naval blockade against Iran on April 13, US forces have disabled seven vessels that failed to comply with issued orders, diverted 134 vessels that cooperated with these orders to alternative routes, and permitted 42 vessels carrying humanitarian aid to pass through.