U.S. forces disable a cargo ship after an Iran blockade attempt

The U.S. military said Saturday that it disabled a commercial cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman after the vessel's crew ignored repeated warnings and tried to violate the American naval blockade of Iran. Central Command identified the ship as the St. Kitts-flagged M/V Huda and said it had visited an Iranian port before attempting to leave the region.

According to the command, a U.S. military aircraft fired precision munitions at the ship's stern after forces directed the crew to leave the targeted parts of the vessel. The military said the crew had ignored warnings and made more than one attempt to breach the blockade. It released video of the strike. It did not give a clear public update on the condition of the crew.

Central Command said the blockade, resumed in July, has redirected 147 commercial vessels that complied with orders. It said five merchant ships that refused have now been disabled, and that U.S. forces had previously destroyed 10 Iranian commercial oil tankers that it described as part of a Revolutionary Guard shadow network. Saturday's action was the first such disablement the command had announced in about a month.

The blockade covers ships entering or leaving Iranian ports and has been a central part of the wider conflict with Iran. The Huda, a bulk carrier under Turkish management according to shipping reports, did not appear on public sanctions lists in those accounts. The U.S. military's description of a blockade violation is its own account of the incident.

Mariners in waters near Iran have been warned to heed U.S. instructions. Independent confirmation of the crew's status and the extent of damage was limited in initial reporting.