US Conducts Missile Strike on Gambian-Flagged Lian Star Vessel

The United States launched a missile strike on a Gambian-flagged vessel attempting to break a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported on this.

The incident took place on May 29. According to the US military, the Lian Star vessel was sailing through international waters toward an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman.

Before using force, the crew received more than 20 warnings about violations of established restrictions.

After that, US forces launched a Hellfire missile strike on the vessel’s engine room, disabling it.

CENTCOM reported that, as part of enforcement operations, the US had already disabled five commercial vessels and forced 116 vessels to change course.

On May 28, a new exchange of strikes between the United States and Iran in the Persian Gulf was reported.

Four Iranian drones attacked a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz but were shot down by US air defense systems.

In response, US forces launched airstrikes on an Iranian military facility near the port of Bandar Abbas. According to a US official, the target was a ground command post and a launch pad from which another drone was being prepared for launch.

Subsequently, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced an attack on the US base from which, according to it, the airstrikes were launched.