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The US military on Tuesday fired a Hellfire missile at a Botswana-flagged M/T vessel, which was heading toward Iran. The US Central Command said the missile targeted the vessel's engine room, disabling it after the crew ignored repeated warnings.

Radio communications recordings from a crew member aboard a stranded vessel near the Strait of Hormuz appear to indicate that a US military aircraft targeted an Iran-linked oil tanker on Tuesday evening. In the recordings, a US aircraft is heard addressing a vessel identified as "LEXIE" before the tanker was reportedly abandoned by its crew.

The oil tanker, known as "LEXIE," was added to the sanctions list of the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control in March 2025 for its alleged involvement in the Iranian oil trade.

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US says it fired missile at Iran-linked tanker near Strait of Hormuz