A US military aircraft has fired precision munitions at the stern of the St Kitts-flagged cargo ship M/V Huda in the Gulf of Oman, US Central Command (CENTCOM) says. According to CENTCOM, the vessel was trying to breach the US blockade of Iran.
CENTCOM says the strike took place on Saturday 7 November, after the civilian crew had been warned to leave the targeted areas. It says the ship had visited an Iranian port and was trying to leave regional waters.
CENTCOM has also released running totals for the blockade. It says US forces have redirected 147 commercial vessels that complied with blockade orders since July. It says they have disabled five merchant ships that refused to comply.
It adds that US forces previously destroyed 10 Iranian commercial oil tankers. CENTCOM says these belonged to what it called the IRGC's multibillion-dollar shadow network.
Separately, UK Maritime Trade Operations says it received a report of an incident involving a bulk carrier and military forces about 18 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan, UAE.
CENTCOM's figures have not been independently checked. The strike has been reported by Iran International, The Hill and Gulf News.