CENTCOM Releases Strike Footage
The US Central Command released footage on Tuesday showing a US strike on an oil tanker allegedly heading to Iran’s Kharg Island to load crude oil.
The date and location of the footage could not be independently verified.
According to CENTCOM, the Botswana-flagged tanker M/T Lexie was travelling through international waters towards Kharg Island on June 2 when US forces repeatedly ordered it to change course.
CENTCOM said the crew ‘ignored repeated warnings’ and failed to comply with instructions for nearly 24 hours, prompting a US aircraft to fire a Hellfire missile into the vessel’s engine room.
Military officials confirmed the tanker was unladen, and no injuries were immediately reported.
Rising Tensions in the Region
It comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran and ongoing US enforcement measures around Iranian ports.
Just a day earlier, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly fired two projectiles at the commercial container ship MSC Sariska V shortly after it left Iraq’s Port of Umm Qasr.
CENTCOM stated that its strike on the M/T Lexie was part of the US maritime blockade launched on April 13, which aims to stop commercial vessels from reaching Iranian ports.
The command added that US forces have disabled six commercial vessels and redirected 122 others since the blockade began.
Iranian authorities have not commented on the incident.
Article by Viory
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