By Raphael Satter
May 30 – The U.S. military says it fired a missile into the ‌engine room of a vessel trying to ‌get through the U.S. blockade of Iran on Friday.
Here are ​some details:
• In a statement on Saturday, U.S. Central Command said it fired a Hellfire missile into the engine room of the Gambia-flagged Lian Star ‌as it was “transiting â international waters toward an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.”
• Before the â attack, U.S. forces issued “more than 20 warnings” informing the vessel it was in violation of the ​U.S. blockade, ​according to Centcom.
• Centcom ​said the ship was “no ‌longer transiting to Iran” but did not provide any further detail.
• Since the blockade started on April 13, the U.S. military has “redirected” at least 115 ships, Centcom said on Friday.
• U.S. Secretary ‌of Defense Pete Hegseth said ​on Saturday that the U.S. ​military is ready ​to resume strikes on Iran if ‌no deal is reached in ​efforts to ​end the war between the United States and Iran.
• The conflict has pushed up global ​energy prices ‌as Iran has mostly closed the Strait of ​Hormuz.
(Reporting by Raphael Satter; Editing by Sergio ​Non and Franklin Paul)
