An American aircraft fired an AGM-114 Hellfire missile directly into the engine room of a Gambia-flagged cargo ship Lian Star in the Gulf of Oman leaving the ship adrift.
US Central Command (Centcom) confirmed the incident occurred on Friday, noting the vessel ignored multiple warnings after it repeatedly attempted to breach the US-led maritime blockade on Iran.
According to the Centcom briefing, Lian Star was actively transiting toward the Iranian coastline in direct violation of the maritime blockading perimetre established by the US.
“US naval forces monitoring the shipping lanes issued numerous, successive warnings instructing the Lian Star to alter its course and stand down. After the vessel’s crew deliberately ignored the radio demands and continued heading toward its Iranian destination, US forces deployed an AGM-114 Hellfire precision-guided missile targeting the ship’s propulsion infrastructure. The vessel ceased movement in the direction of Iran,” Centcom stated.
A senior US official speaking to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity clarified that while the Lian Star was completely disabled and left drifting in the Gulf of Oman, US naval forces did not execute a physical boarding or seizure of the vessel following the missile impact.
According to military logs, this strike represents the sixth distinct instance where the US military has deployed kinetic force to neutralise blockade-running ships since the strict naval embargo was formally established on 13th April. The multi-week blockade was clamped onto regional waters to permanently cut off Tehran’s logistical pipelines and prevent the monetisation of energy assets.
