The U.S. Central Command announced yesterday (Wednesday) that its forces disabled an empty oil tanker that was heading to an Iranian port in the Arabian Gulf, accusing it of attempting to breach the maritime blockade that Washington has reimposed on Iran.

The U.S. Central Command stated in a statement that its forces detected the commercial oil tanker "M/T Belma," which flies the flag of Curacao, while it was sailing in international waters towards Khark Island, noting that the tanker ignored several warnings and continued sailing in an attempt to breach the American blockade, prompting a U.S. aircraft to launch Hellfire missiles at the ship's smokestack, disabling it.

The U.S. command reported that the tanker is no longer continuing its course towards Iran, without indicating whether there were any injuries among its crew or providing details about the extent of the damage it sustained.

The Central Command mentioned that U.S. forces resumed enforcing the maritime blockade on vessels heading to Iranian ports and coastal areas at 4 PM (Tuesday) Eastern Time, which is 11 PM local time.

The U.S. Central Command revealed that during the first 24 hours of implementing the measures, two commercial vessels were forced to change their course after complying with the instructions, while a third vessel was disabled for non-compliance, vowing to continue monitoring maritime traffic.

The U.S. Central Command emphasized in its statement that it is on high alert to ensure full compliance with the maritime blockade procedures.