US military says it disabled cargo ship in Gulf of Oman during Iran blockade

US Central Command said its forces struck and disabled a commercial ship in the Gulf of Oman on October 10, according to Chinese news reports. Xinhua said the command described a large Panama-flagged cargo vessel that was trying to break through the US maritime blockade of Iran. A US fighter used a precision-guided weapon to hit the ship's stern, damaging its propulsion system, the report said. Jiemian reported that Central Command said the crew had ignored warnings and that the vessel was trying to cross the area's waters after departing an Iranian port. [ 2 , 3 ]

Central Command said it had resumed the blockade of all vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports on July 14. In three months, it had disabled four merchant ships and ordered 135 vessels to turn back, Xinhua reported, citing the command. The command also said US forces had destroyed 10 tankers linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The supplied reports do not name the cargo vessel struck on October 10 or provide information about injuries aboard. CLS reported the announcement of the ship being disabled without adding operational details. [ 1 , 3 ]

Xinhua described earlier disputes over navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. It reported that after a US-Iran memorandum of understanding in mid-June, two routes had formed: a northern route controlled by Iran and a southern route near Oman, where US forces provided navigation assistance. The countries later clashed again over the two-route arrangement, and US forces carried out further airstrikes on Iran, according to the report. Iran announced another closure of the strait on July 12. Central Command announced on July 13 that the maritime blockade would resume at 4 p.m. US Eastern time on July 14. [ 3 ]