U.S. Central Command disabled a fifth commercial vessel Friday, firing a Hellfire missile into the engine room of a Gambian-flagged ship defying the U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Blockade Tightens
The vessel, M/V Lian Star, ignored more than 20 warnings while transiting toward an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman, CENTCOM said in a statement. “The ship is no longer transiting to Iran,” it added. According to CENTCOM, U.S. forces have now disabled five ships and redirected 116 vessels total.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking to NewsNation’s Kellie Meyer on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, said the blockade is “very much still in place,” even as reports surfaced of a tentative deal to reopen the strait.
The U.S. and Iran have reportedly agreed to a 60-day ceasefire extension and formal nuclear talks, though neither Trump nor Iran’s Supreme Leader has signed the tentative agreement.
Deal Stalls
The U.S.-Iran military escalation in the Middle East, which began on Feb. 28, has now entered its fourth month, with the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz remaining its most consequential front.
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