Jul 16, 2026 09:32 AM IST US disables ‘non-compliant’ vessel in Arabian Gulf The United States said that it enforced its naval blockade measures against Iran and disabled an unladen oil tanker heading to an Iranian port in the Arabian Gulf.
“US Central Command forces observed Curacao-flagged M/T Belma transiting international waters toward Kharg Island.
The commercial vessel ignored multiple warnings as it attempted to violate the U.S. blockade.
A U.S. aircraft disabled the vessel after firing hellfire missiles into the ship’s smokestack.
The ship is no longer transiting to Iran,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.
"US forces resumed the naval blockade against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas at 4 p.m.
ET on July 14.
During the first 24 hours of enforcement, CENTCOM has redirected two compliant commercial vessels and disabled one non-compliant vessel," it added.
