VIDEO: U.S. disables two Iranian tankers

Screengrab from CENTCOM video

Whatever else is happening in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remains in place and is being enforced. Today U.S. forces disabled two Iranian-flagged unladen oil tankers, M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda, attempting to pull into an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.

A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet from USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) disabled both tankers after firing precision munitions into their smokestacks, preventing the non-compliant ships from entering Iran.

Earlier, on May 6, U.S. forces also disabled Iranian-flagged M/T Hasna, as it attempted to sail to an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman.

An F/A-18 Super Hornet from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) disabled the unladen oil tanker’s rudder by firing several rounds from a 20mm cannon gun.

“U.S. forces in the Middle East remain committed to full enforcement of the blockade of vessels entering or leaving Iran,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander. “Our highly trained men and women in uniform are doing incredible work.”

And while a fragile truce in the conflict with Iran remains in place, it remains tenuous.

IRAN ATTACKS U.S. DESTROYERS

Yesterday, says CENTCOM, U.S. forces intercepted unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes as U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman,

Iranian forces launched multiple missiles, drones and small boats as USS Truxtun (DDG 103), USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), and USS Mason (DDG 87) transited the international sea passage. No U.S. assets were struck.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) eliminated inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking U.S. forces including missile and drone launch sites; command and control locations; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance nodes.

In a post on Truth Social, President Trump gave a rather more colorful versiohn of those events.

“Three World Class American Destroyers just transited, very successfully, out of the Strait of Hormuz, under fire,” he posted. “There was no damage done to the three Destroyers, but great damage done to the Iranian attackers. They were completely destroyed along with numerous small boats, which are being used to take the place of their fully decapitated Navy. These boats went to the bottom of the Sea, quickly and efficiently. Missiles were shot at our Destroyers, and were easily knocked down. Likewise, drones came, and were incinerated while in the air. They dropped ever so beautifully down to the Ocean, very much like a butterfly dropping to its grave! “

IRAN SEIZES TANKER

Windward AI said today that reports confirm the Iranian Navy seized the Jin Li (IMO 9255933), formerly known as the Ocean Koi, on May 8, 2026. The 228 meter tanker, Chinese-owned and operated, is currently operating under a false flag after being de-registered by Barbados due to sanctions.

The vessel has a long history of “stateless” trading and multiple ownership changes indicative of Iranian cooperation. Windward Multi-Source Intelligence detected the Jin Li performing active location manipulation at 01:58 UTC.

While its AIS reported a position in the Gulf of Oman, analysis confirms its true location did not match the broadcast at the time of seizure.

“Given the vessel’s established history within the Iranian trade ecosystem,” says Windward, “this seizure appears to be a performative move likely intended to project regional authority or obscure deeper cooperation.”