U.S. forces operating in the waterways surrounding Iran disabled a vessel on Wednesday that tried to break the American blockade of Iranian ports, according to U.S. Central Command.
The M/T Hasna tried transiting international waters to get to an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman when American forces issued multiple warnings and told the vessel it was violating the U.S. blockade.
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After failing to comply with orders from U.S. troops, a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet launched from the USS Abraham Lincoln fired several rounds from its 20mm cannon gun into the tanker’s rudder.
“Hasna is no longer transiting to Iran,” CENTCOM said in a statement. “The U.S. blockade against ships attempting to enter or depart Iranian ports remains in full effect. CENTCOM forces continue to act deliberately and professionally to ensure compliance.”
It’s unclear what happened with the crew, though the last time U.S. forces disabled a vessel during the blockade of Iranian ports, the U.S. ultimately transferred the crew to the Pakistani authorities, who then got them back to Iran.
On April 19, the MV Touska tried to breach the American blockade and ignore repeated orders from U.S. troops. After ignoring the repeated warnings, the USS Spruance fired nine inert rounds from the destroyer’s mark 45 five-inch guns to disable its engine and American Marines later boarded the vessel via helicopter to seize the ship.
lThe U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remains in effect, which President Donald Trump authorized so that the Iranians would be forced to feel the same economic burden it was imposing across the world.
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Trump announced over the weekend that U.S. forces would begin guiding commercial vessels through the strait, though he ultimately called off the effort on Tuesday, citing purported progress on a broader agreement.
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed,” Trump said Tuesday evening.
Iran had fired at U.S. Navy and commercial vessels during the brief time in which Project Freedom — the plan to guide ships through the strait — was operational and U.S. forces responded.
U.S. personnel aboard AH-64 Apache and U.S. Navy MH-60 Seahawk helicopters destroyed six small Iranian boats that were threatening commercial ships in and around the strait, CENTCOM commander Gen. Brad Cooper said on Monday, while Pentagon leaders said on Tuesday that these attacks did not meet the threshold that would push them to restart “major combat operations at this point.”
