US says it disabled oil tanker sailing towards Iran's Kharg Island

The United States military has disabled a commercial oil tanker attempting to access Iran as Washington continues to enforce its strict naval blockade on maritime traffic linked to Iranian ports, even as tensions remained high between Israel and Hezbollah despite a fresh round of diplomatic talks underway in the American capital.

According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), a Botswana-flagged oil tanker identified as the M/T Lexie was targeted after it allegedly attempted to sail towards Iran's Kharg Island. The vessel, which was not carrying cargo at the time, reportedly disregarded "repeated warnings" over a 24-hour period to alter its course.

In an official statement, CENTCOM confirmed that an American military aircraft ultimately halted the ship by striking its engine room with a Hellfire missile. This action is part of an ongoing enforcement campaign initiated on 13 April, during which US forces state they have disabled six commercial vessels and redirected 122 others attempting to enter or leave Iranian maritime facilities.

In a related maritime escalation reported by Al Jazeera, the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) confirmed that its vessel, Sariska V, was struck by two projectiles in the port of Umm Qasr yesterday. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) had first reported the attack southeast of Umm Qasr, though it did not initially name the ship.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) later claimed responsibility for the strike, describing the Sariska V as a "US-owned" ship and framing the action as retaliation following an attack on an Iranian ship near Oman. However, MSC strongly rejected the claims, stating that the strikes were "completely unjustified based on the allegations made by the IRGC since MSC is a neutral commercial carrier with no affiliation to the United States or Israel." The shipping conglomerate added that the company is based and domiciled in Switzerland and is wholly owned by Italian nationals. -- ANI