U.S. Forces Disable Cargo Ship Attempting to Breach Iran Blockade

U.S. Central Command said American forces disabled a commercial cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman on November 7 after its civilian crew ignored repeated warnings and tried several times to breach the naval blockade against Iran. The command identified the vessel as the St. Kitts-flagged M/V Huda. It said the ship was trying to leave regional waters after calling at an Iranian port. According to the command, a U.S. military aircraft struck the vessel's stern with precision munitions. American forces first instructed the crew to leave the spaces that would be targeted. CENTCOM said it “continues to strictly enforce America’s naval blockade against Iran.” The command did not specify the time of the strike. The command placed the operation within a blockade-enforcement campaign running since July. It said 147 commercial vessels had followed instructions and been redirected, while five merchant ships that refused to comply had been disabled. Separately, it reported having destroyed 10 Iranian commercial oil tankers that it described as part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' multibillion-dollar shadow network. CENTCOM urged mariners operating near Iran's coast and in surrounding waters to heed U.S. blockade warnings.