U.S. Central Command disabled a fifth commercial vessel Friday, firing a Hellfire missile into the engine room of a Gambian-flagged ship that was defying the U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
The vessel, M/V Lian Star, ignored more than 20 warnings while transiting toward an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman, CENTCOM said in a statement. "The ship is no longer transiting to Iran," it added. According to CENTCOM, U.S. forces have now disabled five ships and redirected 116 vessels total.
The Pentagon estimated in early May the blockade has cost Iran roughly $4.8 billion in oil revenue since President Donald Trump imposed it on April 13, after U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations collapsed. Earlier this week, Trump called Iran "very good negotiators" but said the U.S. holds all the cards, as Vice President JD Vance confirmed uranium enrichment rules remain unresolved.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking to NewsNation's Kellie Meyer on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, said the blockade is "very much still in place," even as reports surfaced of a tentative deal to reopen the strait.
The U.S. and Iran have reportedly agreed to a 60-day ceasefire extension and formal nuclear talks, though neither Trump nor Iran's Supreme Leader has signed the tentative agreement.
However, President Trump left a White House Situation Room meeting on Friday without announcing a decision on the proposed deal, posting on Truth Social that "no money will be exchanged, until further notice," as Iran disputed key terms.
The U.S.-Iran military escalation in the Middle East, which began on Feb. 28, has now entered its fourth month, with the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz remaining its most consequential front.
