US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces fired missiles at and disabled an unladen oil tanker that was attempting to sail toward an Iranian port on Wednesday.

The commercial vessel, identified as Curacao-flagged M/T Belma, "ignored multiple warnings as it attempted to violate the US blockade," CENTCOM said in a post on social media.

A US aircraft disabled the vessel sailing toward Kharg Island after firing Hellfire missiles into the ship's smokestack, it added. "The ship is no longer transiting to Iran."