U.S. Central Command says it struck an oil tanker with a fighter jet yesterday after it attempted to break the naval blockade and transport oil from Iran out of the Strait of Hormuz. A precision missile hit the engine room.
**New strike in ongoing blockade enforcement.** CENTCOM announced Saturday that a U.S. fighter jet struck an oil tanker that attempted to break the naval blockade and transport oil from Iran through the Strait of Hormuz. A precision missile disabled the vessel's engine room. The action occurred yesterday, June 9. **Dated antecedents.** The strike continues a pattern of U.S. interdictions in the waterway. On June 10, as The Zioneer reported that same day, CENTCOM disabled the M/T Settebello — the same vessel struck earlier — in the Gulf of Oman for the second time in days. On June 8, the U.S. Navy disabled the Iran-affiliated M/T Marivex in the Sea of Oman, also with an engine-room strike. A broader CENTCOM offensive concluded on June 9, which Iran claimed was met with retaliatory missile fire. **Attributed background.** The U.S. blockade of Iranian oil exports via the Strait of Hormuz has been in effect since early June, following a CENTCOM directive. Friday night saw Iran claim it launched missiles at U.S. warships in the strait — an unverified report — and CENTCOM confirmed intercepting two Iranian drones threatening shipping lanes on June 7. The tanker's current status — whether it is adrift, being towed, or has been boarded — has not been reported by CENTCOM in this statement.
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