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CENTCOM says it disabled St. Kitts-flagged cargo ship in Gulf of Oman
U.S. Central Command said Saturday a U.S. aircraft disabled the St. Kitts-flagged M/V Huda in the Gulf of Oman after an Iranian port call and ignored warnings, according to CENTCOM; Middle East Eye and an AP station report restated that account.
- U.S. Central Command, Middle East Eye and 2 more are now reporting this
- New headline Was: “US military says it disabled cargo vessel in Gulf of Oman”
- Our desk filed its story
Wire reporting: (Reuters, via Middle East Eye), (AP, via Local 10)
U.S. Central Command said Saturday that its forces disabled a commercial cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman after the ship's civilian crew ignored repeated warnings and tried more than once to violate a U.S. naval blockade of Iran1.
CENTCOM said a U.S. military aircraft fired precision munitions at the stern of the St. Kitts-flagged M/V Huda after directing the crew to abandon targeted spaces1. The command said the cargo vessel tried to leave regional waters after visiting an Iranian port1,2.
The statement, issued from Tampa, Florida, presented the action as enforcement of a blockade in place since July1. CENTCOM said U.S. forces had redirected 147 commercial vessels that complied and disabled five merchant ships that refused1. It also said U.S. forces had previously destroyed 10 Iranian commercial oil tankers that it linked to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps oil network1.
Middle East Eye, citing CENTCOM, reported the same Saturday strike on a St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged cargo ship trying to leave after an Iranian port call2. Local 10 carried Associated Press reporting that likewise attributed the disabling of a St. Kitts-flagged ship to CENTCOM3.
Middle East Eye also reported that the U.S. military said Saturday it was launching a task force against Iran's movement of advanced weapons and other sanctioned material over land borders and through the Caspian Sea2. That outlet said CENTCOM estimated the naval blockade had prevented Iran from exporting more than $25 billion in crude oil2.
The AP account carried by Local 10 placed the incident in months of U.S. blockade enforcement around the Strait of Hormuz and noted Iranian state-media reports of explosions on Qeshm Island and at Jask whose cause was not established in that report3. CENTCOM advised mariners near Iranian coastal areas and surrounding waters to heed blockade warnings from U.S. forces1. Cited accounts did not independently confirm casualties aboard the Huda, the ship's cargo, or an Iranian government response to the Gulf of Oman strike1,2,3.
Sources
How it’s being reported
2 sourcesFirst reported by U.S. Central Command
US military says it disabled cargo vessel in Gulf of Oman
Leads with what someone said.
Same copy also at: (Reuters, via Arab News) · Reuters
US military says it fired on commercial vessel in Gulf of Oman after it attempted to breach blockade
Leads with what someone said.
Where they agree
- CENTCOM said U.S. forces disabled a St. Kitts-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman on Saturday.
- The command said the ship had visited an Iranian port and tried to leave regional waters.
- Accounts said a U.S. aircraft used precision munitions against the stern after warnings.
- The action was described as enforcement of a U.S. naval blockade of Iran.
Where they differ
Whether CENTCOM named the vessel in secondary reports