US Fires Hellfire Missile Into Cargo Ship Attempting to Break Iran Blockade
The United States military disabled a commercial cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman on Friday after it ignored more than 20 warnings and attempted to reach an Iranian port in defiance of the US naval blockade, US Central Command announced on Saturday. CENTCOM said the strike occurred on May 29 after the M/V Lian Star failed to respond to repeated warnings. “A US aircraft disabled the vessel by firing a Hellfire missile into the ship’s engine room after Lian Star’s crew failed to comply. The ship is no longer transiting to Iran,” CENTCOM said. who
The Lian Star is a Gambia-flagged vessel. CENTCOM said US forces issued “more than 20 warnings” informing the vessel it was in violation of the US blockade before the strike was carried out. foodsafety
The statement did not mention whether there were any injuries aboard the Lian Star following the strike. No casualties were reported, but the crew of the Lian Star remained aboard a disabled vessel adrift in international waters. A senior administration official, speaking anonymously to the Associated Press, said US forces had not boarded the ship. who + 2
The strike was the fifth time CENTCOM has disabled a commercial vessel since the blockade began, and comes as diplomatic talks over a ceasefire extension between Washington and Tehran remained unresolved. “US forces have disabled five commercial vessels and redirected 116 to fully enforce the blockade as a ceasefire with Iran remains in effect,” CENTCOM said. who
The incident unfolded hours after US President Donald Trump spent approximately two hours in the White House Situation Room meeting with national security aides to consider a tentative agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The meeting concluded Friday with no formal announcement, according to a White House official. PBS
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth used the Lian Star incident as a backdrop for an explicit warning to Tehran. Hegseth said on Saturday that the US military is ready to resume strikes on Iran if no deal is reached to end its war with the United States. Speaking at a defence conference in Singapore, Hegseth said Iran was “coming in our direction” and that “talks have been productive,” but gave no indication that a presidential decision had been made. Internazionaleumn
ITV News reported that the US has now stopped six ships trying to breach the blockade, which was imposed on April 17, while one vessel has been allowed to proceed. That figure differs slightly from CENTCOM’s own published count of five disabled vessels, reflecting the different categories used to define interception and disablement. umn
The Lian Star incident adds a concrete enforcement dimension to diplomatic negotiations that have so far produced contradictory public statements from both sides. On Friday, Trump posted on TruthSocial that Iran had agreed to open the Strait without tolls and allow the US to destroy its highly enriched uranium stockpiles — a characterisation Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei immediately denied, saying no final agreement had been reached.
Regional and Global Impact
The disabling of a fifth commercial vessel reinforces that the US blockade is an active enforcement operation, not merely a declared policy. International humanitarian organisations have called for the safe release of the Lian Star’s crew and the ship itself, raising concerns about the crew’s access to food, water, medical care, and eventual repatriation while adrift in international waters. For shipping companies and flag-state registries — Gambia in this case — the incident demonstrates the legal and physical exposure of vessels that attempt to service Iranian ports while the blockade remains in force. With summer approaching, elevated jet fuel costs and ceasefire uncertainties are already straining tourism-dependent economies in Southeast Asia, including Thailand and Vietnam, as flight cancellations increase during what should be the peak summer tourist season, CBS News reported. whoumn
Meanwhile the broader military picture in the region remained volatile on Saturday. Hezbollah launched barrages of rocket and drone fire at northern Israel, forcing schools to close and a hospital to move underground. As Israeli troops advanced further into southern Lebanon, the Israeli military warned of intensified attacks from the Iranian-backed group. umn
Background
The US naval blockade of Iranian ports has been in effect since April 13, enforced by US Central Command to pressure Tehran as a ceasefire between the US and Iran holds in fragile form. Iran responded to the US-Israeli strikes that began in late February by closing the Strait of Hormuz, trapping thousands of vessels and cutting off a critical artery for global oil and gas shipments. The US blockade operates in parallel — preventing ships from reaching Iranian ports while Iran’s controls prevent transit through Hormuz for vessels it deems hostile. The Hellfire missile used in Friday’s strike is an air-launched precision weapon typically deployed from aircraft or drones against vehicle-sized targets; its use against a commercial cargo ship’s engine room is designed to disable propulsion without sinking the vessel or targeting its crew. The Star
What Happens Next
The fate of the Lian Star and its crew remained unresolved as of Saturday, with no announcement from CENTCOM on whether the vessel would be towed, boarded, or left adrift. Hegseth said the US military is prepared to resume strikes against Iran if negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear programme collapse, setting a clear public threshold for military re-escalation. Trump has not publicly stated a deadline for the ceasefire decision he said he would make after Friday’s Situation Room meeting. Iran’s Foreign Ministry indicated message exchanges with Washington were continuing, though no agreement was imminent. Further blockade enforcement actions remain possible if additional vessels attempt to breach the cordon before a diplomatic resolution is reached. PBS
