U.S. Forces Disable Gambia-Flagged Vessel Headed Toward Iran After Warnings

U.S. Central Command disabled the Gambia-flagged commercial ship M/V Lian Star on Saturday by firing a Hellfire missile into the vessel’s engine room after the ship ignored 20 warnings and continued toward Iran. “The ship is no longer transiting to Iran,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

U.S. forces have disabled since the start of the blockade of Iranian ports. U.S. forces have redirected 116 ships since the blockade began.

The blockade was imposed to prevent vessels from leaving or reaching Iran and to apply economic pressure on Iranian leaders. U.S. MQ-1 Predator drone.

“The unmanned aerial vehicle was immediately tracked by air defense systems and targeted by advanced surface-to-air missiles before it could carry out any raid,” Fars stated. CENTCOM did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Iranian claim.

U.S. Planes and drones have been lost during the Iran conflict, according to a Congressional Research Service report. The CRS report lists 24 MQ-9 Reaper drones, four F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets, one F-35, and seven KC-135 refueling tankers among the losses.

U.S. Forces hit several targets in southern Iran last week that Pentagon officials said posed a threat to American troops. Iran has sought to shut down commercial maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war. President Trump said over the weekend that he plans to soon make a final determination on whether to approve a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire with Iran.

The Trump administration sent a revised peace framework to Iran for review that includes the president’s new, tougher demands for concessions from Iran, The New York Times reported.