US Forces Missile-Strike Oil Tanker Defying Iran Blockade Orders
The vessel — a Botswana-flagged tanker identified as the M/T Lexie — was traveling unladen through international waters en route to Iran's Kharg Island when US forces intervened, issuing repeated directives to change course, CENTCOM stated.
The crew's defiance ultimately triggered a military response.
"The ship's crew ignored repeated warnings, failing to comply with directions from U.S. forces multiple times over a 24-hour period.
"A U.S. aircraft ultimately disabled the vessel by firing a Hellfire missile into the ship's engine room, preventing the tanker from reaching Iran," it said.
The incident is the latest flashpoint in a rapidly shifting regional crisis. Tensions across the Middle East have surged since US and Israeli forces launched coordinated strikes against Iran on Feb. 28. Tehran responded with retaliatory attacks on Israel and US allies across the Gulf, compounded by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
A ceasefire brokered through Pakistani mediation took hold on April 8, though follow-on negotiations in Islamabad failed to yield a durable settlement. CENTCOM moved to impose a full maritime blockade on all traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports on April 13.
Since the blockade took effect, US forces have disabled 6 commercial vessels and redirected 122 others, even as the ceasefire with Iran nominally holds.
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