U.S. military forces fired a missile into a commercial ship in the Gulf of Oman that was attempting to sail toward an Iranian port, Central Command said in a statement, the latest effort to enforce President Donald Trump’s naval blockade designed to weaken Tehran’s economy as peace negotiations continue.

Centcom said on Saturday that the Gambia-flagged merchant vessel was observed “transiting international waters toward an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman and issued more than 20 warnings while informing the vessel it was in violation of the U.S. blockade.”

The ship, Lian Star, was disabled by a Hellfire missile from U.S. aircraft shot into the ship’s engine room. The military said the ship is no longer transiting to Iran, and did not disclose any casualties resulting from the incident.

The U.S. and Iran have maintained a ceasefire since April 7, and talks to extend it have been ongoing.

Trump recently signaled that he’s moving closer to approving a deal. Trump convened a Situation Room meeting with advisers at the White House on Friday, but has yet to announce a deal.

As talks continue, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Saturday that “the blockade is very much still in place.” He added that “the Strait of Hormuz came up relatively often” during his discussions with foreign leaders gathered in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit.

“It will be an open strait, a toll-free strait that the entire world can use,” he told reporters.

The U.S. military says that with the latest action, its forces have now disabled six commercial vessels and redirected 116 others to enforce its naval blockade, which was launched in mid-April.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870240&forum_id=2...id.#49908520)

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