US Bombs Commercial Ship as CENTCOM Expands Iran Blockade to Land Routes

US Central Command on Saturday announced that its forces bombed a commercial ship in the Gulf of Oman that it claimed departed an Iranian port, as the US continues to enforce a naval blockade on Iranian ports. The announcement came shortly after CENTCOM said that it was expanding its blockade of Iran to the Caspian Sea and land routes across its border. Video of the bombing of the commercial vessel Huda released by CENTCOM CENTCOM said that it was establishing a “task force that will support ongoing U.S. government efforts to prevent Iran from using ground routes to transport advanced weapons and other materials.”

Iran has ramped up shipments by rail amid the US blockade. It remains unclear if the expanded blockade will mean airstrikes against ground targets in Iran, but the US has also continued launching strikes against Iran’s Qeshm Island, as Iranian forces continue targeting commercial ships and downing US drones that are helping enforce the blockade. On Friday, President Trump said that the US carried out airstrikes against an air defense system on Qeshm Island, an attack he described as “minor.”

More explosions were reported in Qeshm on Saturday, but it remains unclear if they were the result of US strikes. All of the developments demonstrate the fact that the US remains at war with Iran whether or not Trump decides to escalate into a full-scale bombing campaign. Trump told reporters on Sunday that it was “highly unlikely” he would need to order major strikes on Iran but also threatened to destroy the country’s civilian infrastructure, saying the US has picked out infrastructure targets, including 38 bridges “that we can knock down in literally ⁠one ​hour,” If you liked this article, please support Antiwar.com.

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