US Disables Oil Tanker and Strikes Iranian Targets in Hormuz Strait

The US military disabled an unladen oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday morning by firing Hellfire missiles into the ship’s smokestack after it ignored multiple warnings, The Guardian reported. The action formed part of a blockade on Iranian ports during a fifth day of strikes.

Earlier strikes on Wednesday morning hit cruise missile storage and launch sites on Iran’s Greater Tunb Island.

That evening US forces targeted coastal defenses and missile sites. Overnight into Thursday the strikes reached the southern port city of Bandar Abbas and areas around Tehran, where state media reported air defenses active in the capital. ” Iran responded by targeting US-allied Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan with missiles and drones.

The Jordanian military said it shot down eight of the missiles. Iran’s health ministry said at least 30 people had been killed and 260 injured in southern Iran from US attacks in recent days. Iranian officials said US strikes hit an army barracks, killing at least seven troops and wounding hundreds.

President Trump said he did not like giving deadlines when asked about possible attacks on Iranian bridges and added, “They know the story ... ” He separately thanked Iran for allowing dual American-Iranian citizen Dena Karari, who had been detained in December 2024, to leave the country.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran “had never welcomed war, nor do we now” and urged continued armed resistance alongside diplomacy.

Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Pakistan would continue to encourage all sides to end the violence and resume technical talks under the June MoU signed with Islamabad’s mediation. Brent crude oil traded above $85 a barrel on Wednesday, more than 15 percent higher than before the war.