U.S. and partner forces conducted strikes on Qeshm Island in response to Iranian attacks across the Middle East on Monday, according to U.S. Central Command.CENTCOM said the operations were in response to Iran launching ballistic missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain, which were intercepted. Officials said no personnel were harmed. The United States said it had shot down Iranian drones targeting civilian vessels “moments earlier” and targeted a ground station on Qeshm Island.The strikes come after U.S. forces disabled a “noncompliant” oil tanker headed toward an Iranian port Tuesday after the vessel repeatedly ignored warnings from American military forces enforcing a maritime blockade against Iran, according to CENTCOM.
CENTCOM said the Botswana-flagged tanker, identified as M/T Lexie, was traveling through international waters toward Kharg Island, Iran’s primary oil export terminal, when it failed to comply with U.S. directives over a 24-hour period.
A U.S. aircraft ultimately fired a Hellfire missile into the vessel’s engine room, disabling the ship and preventing it from reaching Iran.
The tanker was not carrying any cargo at the time, according to CENTCOM.
The incident marks the latest escalation in the U.S.-led effort to isolate Iran economically following months of conflict and increasingly strained peace negotiations. U.S. forces began enforcing a blockade on maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports through the Strait of Hormuz on April 13.
