U.S. Navy fires Hellfire missile at Gambia-flagged cargo ship Lian Star enforcing Iran blockade
U.S. Central Command says a Navy aircraft fired a Hellfire missile into the engine room of the Gambia-flagged M/V Lian Star in the Gulf of Oman on May 29 after the ship ignored more than twenty warnings. The vessel was trying to reach an Iranian port and is now adrift. It is the
U.S. Central Command says a Navy aircraft fired a Hellfire missile into the engine room of the Gambia-flagged M/V Lian Star in the Gulf of Oman on May 29 after the ship ignored more than twenty warnings. The vessel was trying to reach an Iranian port and is now adrift. It is the fifth commercial ship disabled by U.S. forces since the Iran blockade began in early April. According to CENTCOM, the ship had been tracked by Marine Traffic leaving Karachi in Pakistan, officially bound for Iraq. U.S. forces have not boarded the vessel. CENTCOM says another 116 vessels have been redirected during the blockade. The ceasefire between Washington and Tehran is technically still in effect.