US forces divert 92 commercial vessels during Iranian naval blockade: CENTCOM

WEB DESK: The US military diverted 92 commercial vessels during the enforcement of Iran’s naval blockade, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

According to CENTCOM, US forces disabled three commercial vessels during the operation.

The US forces also boarded and searched two commercial vessels as part of efforts to enforce the naval blockade.

CENTCOM said the operations were carried out to ensure compliance with the naval blockade.

‘Three oil tankers struck’

US forces struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, US Central Command said, including one off the coast of Kharg Island, near Iran’s key oil export hub.

The strikes were carried out after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched ballistic missiles at two US Navy ships, Central Command said.

“Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours,” said Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command.

Tasnim, the semi-official Iranian news agency, reported earlier that four US missiles hit a tanker in the area of Kharg’s anchorage.

Tasnim quoted local sources as saying that there were no casualties and that the tanker’s crew was being evacuated.

Central Command said no American personnel were harmed.

Iran warns of ‘painful response’

Meanwhile, Iran has said it will step up efforts to address problems caused by US sanctions that are crippling its economy, while a senior Iranian official warned of a “painful response” if the country comes under further attack.

Six months after US-Israeli strikes against Iran, the war appears to have reached a stalemate. A preliminary ceasefire accord reached in June has unravelled, while little progress has been made in diplomatic efforts to revive the peace process.

After a pause in military action for much of July, tit-for-tat strikes have resumed, with US Central Command saying it struck three Iranian tankers on Saturday in response to the IRGC launching ballistic missiles at two US Navy ships.

Following the attacks, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on Sunday that the US should understand that the rules of the game in the war against Iran have changed “before it is too late”.

“From now on, any attack against Iran’s interests and security will receive a faster, heavier and more painful response,” he said in a speech published on his Telegram channel.

Tehran has shown that it still retains the capability to attack US interests in neighbouring countries and disrupt oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of global oil supplies flowed before the conflict.