The U.S. military announced that one of its aircraft fired upon an empty oil tanker on Wednesday, effectively halting its progress as it attempted to break the naval blockade imposed on Iran's ports.
In a statement on the X platform, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that the aircraft "disabled the ship by firing Hellfire missiles at its smokestack. The vessel is no longer heading towards Iran."
CENTCOM identified the tanker as "MT Belma," which sails under the flag of Curaçao, adding that the commercial ship ignored multiple warnings while attempting to violate the American blockade.
This incident marks the first time the United States has forcibly stopped a ship since it reinstated the blockade on Iranian ports as of 20:00 GMT on Tuesday.
Moreover, CENTCOM noted that two other commercial ships complied with orders to change course within the initial 24 hours following the blockade's reimplementation.
The U.S. had previously imposed a blockade on Iranian ports from April 13 to June 18, during which they disabled nine ships and rerouted over 140 vessels, according to CENTCOM.