US says opened fire to disable two Iran-flagged ships violating port blockade

US forces fired on and disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers that attempted to violate the American blockade of Iran's ports on Friday, the US military said.

Washington has now forcibly halted four ships it said were attempting to violate the blockade, which has been in place since April 13.

A US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet disabled the M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda by "firing precision munitions into their smokestacks, preventing the non-compliant ships from entering Iran," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X that included footage of the strikes on the two vessels.


On Wednesday, an F/A-18 disabled another Iranian-flagged ship -- the M/T Hasna -- by firing its 20mm cannon at the vessel's rudder.

And on April 19, the Iranian-flagged M/V Touska attempted to violate the blockade and ignored multiple warnings from a US destroyer, CENTCOM said at the time.

The American warship eventually directed the ship's crew to evacuate its engine room, which it then hit with multiple rounds from its five-inch gun, disabling the vessel.

Tehran's forces effectively closed the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway -- a key route for oil and gas shipments -- after the start of the US-Israeli air campaign against Iran on February 28.

The United States announced its blockade of Iranian ports after peace talks in Pakistan failed to achieve a breakthrough last month.