US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on 2/6 that the unladen M/T Lexie oil tanker, flying the Botswana flag, "ignored repeated warnings" for 24 hours while moving from international waters towards Iran's Kharg Island. A US military aircraft then "neutralized the ship by firing a hellfire missile into its engine room."

Kharg Island is strategically located in the Persian Gulf, about 25 km off the Iranian coast and over 480 km from the Strait of Hormuz. Its facilities can process 7 million barrels of oil daily, handling approximately 90% of Iran's crude oil exports.

US aircraft launch a missile at an oil tanker heading to Iran on 2/6. *Video: CENTCOM*

CENTCOM did not specify if the attack caused any casualties among the Lexie's crew. According to a CENTCOM statement, six ships have been neutralized and 122 ships redirected since the port blockade took effect in April.

This incident follows several similar actions. US forces on 29/5 neutralized a Gambia-flagged cargo ship after it failed to comply with their demands, CENTCOM reported.

Earlier, on 8/5, the US military fired at the funnels of two Iran-flagged oil tankers to force them to stop. On 6/5, a US fighter jet fired a 20 mm cannon at the rudder of an Iran-flagged ship, disabling the vessel.

In mid-April, an Iran-flagged ship attempted to bypass the blockade and ignored multiple warnings from a US destroyer, according to CENTCOM information released at the time. The US warship ultimately ordered the crew to evacuate the engine room before firing multiple rounds from a 127 mm naval gun into that location.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical shipping lane, transiting about 20% of the global oil and gas supply. Iran has almost entirely blockaded the strait since the start of hostilities, requiring commercial vessels to seek permission or pay fees to pass and prohibiting vehicles linked to the US, Israel, and other conflict participants.

Location of Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf. *Graphic: Guardian*

The US Navy has enforced a blockade outside the Gulf of Oman since 13/4, warning it would seize any cargo ship arriving at or departing from Iranian ports, as well as those that had paid fees to Tehran.

Although a ceasefire effective from 8/4 remains in place, Washington and Tehran have not reached an agreement to extend it and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Negotiations between the two sides are currently at a stalemate due to an Israeli attack on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital, an action Iran considers "a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts."