US Central Command Enforces Naval Blockade Against Iran

The United States Central Command is maintaining a naval blockade of Iranian ports as part of a five-month war between the United States and Iran. As of July 25, U.S. forces redirected 12 commercial vessels attempting to breach the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters. During these operations, U.S. forces disabled two non-compliant ships and boarded two others for verification.

Among the disabled vessels was the Mozambique-flagged M/T Lavine, which was hit by a precision strike to its engine room in the Gulf of Oman on July 24 after the crew ignored repeated warnings. In the Arabian Sea, U.S. forces conducted a compliance boarding of the Comoros-flagged M/T Charminar to check for prohibited goods before permitting it to proceed.

Simultaneously, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy targeted four commercial ships in the southern Strait of Hormuz over a 24-hour period, using warning shots to force vessels off a route Tehran considers illegal. The Mozambique-flagged LPG tanker DISHA was also attacked within Iranian territorial waters. These maritime escalations occur as President Donald Trump has reportedly paused direct military strikes due to a diminished stockpile of antimissile interceptors.