U.S. Forces Disable Botswana-Flagged M/T Lexie With Hellfire Missile Near Kharg Island

The United States disabled an empty Botswana-flagged oil tanker, M/T Lexie, after the crew ignored repeated warnings and attempted to sail toward an Iranian port on Tuesday, with U.S. Central Command saying a U.S. aircraft fired a Hellfire missile into the ship’s engine room.

CENTCOM said the tanker was transiting international waters toward Kharg Island and failed to comply with directions from U.S. forces multiple times over a 24-hour period before being disabled.

DIE WELT

The Gulf News account said the incident prevented the vessel from reaching Kharg Island, while the Newsweek account said CENTCOM enforced blockade measures against M/T Lexie as it transited toward Kharg Island.

In the same reporting, CENTCOM said the blockade began on April 13 and that U.S. forces have disabled six commercial vessels and redirected 122 others since the blockade took effect.

CENTCOM said the crew of M/T Lexie ignored repeated warnings and, in the past 24 hours, repeatedly disobeyed orders from U.S. forces, before the Hellfire strike disabled the tanker.

The Jerusalem Post described the same sequence as CENTCOM asserting that American forces issued repeated warnings over the course of 24 hours as the Botswana-flagged vessel sailed toward Iran’s Kharg Island.

DW

Gulf News reported that U.S. officials said US forces have now disabled six commercial vessels and redirected 122 others since the blockade took effect, and it also said no injuries were immediately reported in the statement.

The Newsweek account likewise said CENTCOM began implementing the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on April 13 and that U.S. forces have disabled six commercial vessels and redirected 122 as the ceasefire with Iran continues.

The strike against M/T Lexie occurred as President Donald Trump touted ongoing talks with Iran, with Newsweek quoting a Truth Social post in which Trump said, "It’s time, one way or another, for you to make a Deal."

“According to the US Central Command, the Gambia-flagged cargo ship Lian Star ignored more than 20 warnings from US forces overnight as it tried to enter an Iranian port”

Euronews

Newsweek also included a warning from Rajan Menon, professor emeritus of International Relations at the City College of New York, who said, "The result could well be a collision—meaning a return to war."

Gulf News framed the incident as part of a broader U.S. effort to enforce a blockade of maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports since April 13, and it said Kharg Island serves as the terminal for roughly 90 percent of Iran's crude oil exports.

In parallel, the Euronews report said the U.S. military stopped six ships trying to breach the blockade and that another 116 ships were redirected, while it described the blockade as launched in response to Iran effectively closing the strait after the war began.