US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that American forces disabled a third commercial oil tanker this week after it allegedly attempted to violate the naval blockade imposed on Iranian ports, marking the ninth such operation since the blockade began.
In a statement, CENTCOM said US forces intercepted the Guinea-Bissau-flagged tanker “Gulfir” while it was allegedly transporting oil from Iran through the Gulf of Oman. The statement added that a US aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles at the vessel’s engine room after the crew repeatedly refused to comply with orders issued by American forces.
Iranian media, however, presented a different account of the incident. Mehr News Agency quoted the governor of Sirik province as saying that an American missile struck an Iranian cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman early Thursday morning, according to news reports.
According to the Iranian official, the 150-ton vessel, owned by residents of Sirik and carrying essential goods from the Omani port of Khasab, was targeted approximately five nautical miles from Khasab.
He added that all five crew members were rescued by passing ships and later transferred safely to Oman.
