US military says it disabled third tanker running Iran blockade this week

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

The American military says it has disabled another tanker transporting Iranian crude oil in the Gulf of Oman, the third commercial ship hit this week after attempting to violate a US blockade.

In a statement, the US Central Command says it struck the Guinea-Bissau-flagged M/T Jalveer “as it attempted to transport oil from Iran through the Gulf of Oman.”

“A US aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles into the ship’s engine room after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from US forces,” CENTCOM says.

It marks the third time this week that the American military has disabled ships in the area, after Palau-flagged vessels M/T Marivex and M/T Settebello were disabled on Monday and Tuesday.

“Marivex violated the blockade by attempting to sail to an Iranian port and Settebello attempted to transport Iranian oil,” according to CENTCOM.

CENTCOM says it has “disabled nine non-compliant vessels, redirected 135 ships that complied, and allowed 42 vessels supporting humanitarian aid to pass since initiating the blockade on April 13.”

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