US attacks tanker bound for Iran’s Kharg Island as blockade takes force

The US military said on July 16 that it had attacked a commercial tanker heading toward Iran’s Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, in the first publicly announced strike since the United States reinstated a naval blockade targeting Iranian ports and coastal areas earlier this week.

In a statement issued overnight, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said an American aircraft fired Hellfire missiles into the smokestack of the Curacao-flagged tanker M/T Belma after the vessel allegedly ignored multiple warnings while sailing in international waters toward Kharg Island.

“The ship is no longer transiting to Iran,” CENTCOM said, adding that the vessel was unladen at the time of the strike.

According to CENTCOM, the blockade was reinstated at 4 p.m. ET on July 14 and, during the first 24 hours of operations, its forces also redirected two commercial vessels that “complied with US instructions.”

The United States has not released evidence supporting its claim that the tanker was trying to break through the blockade.

Iran has condemned the US blockade as an act of “piracy” and a violation of international law.

Tehran says Washington has breached the terms of a peace memorandum signed in June, under which the two sides agreed to pursue a 60-day diplomatic process following the US-Israeli joint war launched against Iran in late February.

The latest incident comes as tensions over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continue to escalate. Iranian officials have insisted that vessel traffic through the waterway will proceed only under rules set by the Islamic Republic and through routes designated by its armed forces.

Kharg Island, the destination identified by CENTCOM, is Iran’s main crude export terminal and is located in the Persian Gulf.

The renewed confrontation has already rattled energy markets. Brent crude settled at around $84.51 a barrel on July 16 and US West Texas Intermediate traded near $80, extending gains as traders weighed the risk of wider disruptions to oil flows through the Persian Gulf and nearby shipping lanes.

Iran has previously said it exported more than 80mn barrels of crude oil and petroleum products in the 26 days following the signing of the memo, before the US moved to restore the blockade ahead of schedule.