Wednesday, June 03, 2026

US fires Hellfire missile at tanker heading toward Iran





US fires Hellfire missile at tanker heading toward Iran


Wednesday, 03 Jun 2026 | 5:45 AM MYT





June 2 (Reuters) - The ⁠U.S. military fired a Hellfire missile ⁠at a tanker heading toward Iran ‌on Tuesday as part of a blockade being imposed by President Donald Trump, who is pressing Tehran to ​negotiate a peace agreement on ⁠his terms.

The U.S. ⁠military's Central Command posted a video showing the ⁠missile ‌strike the tanker and said it targeted the Botswana-flagged M/T Lexie's ⁠engine room, disabling it.

"The ship's crew ignored ​repeated ‌warnings, failing to comply with directions from ⁠U.S. forces ​multiple times over a 24-hour period," Central Command said in a statement.

"A U.S. aircraft ultimately ⁠disabled the vessel by firing ​a Hellfire missile into the ship’s engine room, preventing the tanker from reaching Iran."

The Lexie ⁠is the sixth ship that the U.S. military has disabled since it started its blockade of Iran on April 13. The ​U.S. military says it ⁠has also redirected 122 vessels that were seeking ​to enter or exit ‌Iranian ports so far.

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