US military boards tanker in Arabian Sea for inspection

US forces boarded the Comoros-flagged tanker M/T Charminar in the Arabian Sea to conduct an inspection, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X.

"Earlier today, U.S. forces completed a verification boarding aboard Comoros-flagged M/T Charminar in the Arabian Sea, and the tanker is now continuing its journey," CENTCOM said.

According to the command, the vessel continued on its route after the inspection. CENTCOM also stressed that the US-imposed maritime blockade of Iran remains in effect.

The command further confirmed that on July 24 it disabled the Mozambique-flagged tanker Lavine, which was sailing in the Gulf of Oman after its crew repeatedly attempted to breach the blockade and ignored multiple warnings. The vessel is no longer bound for Iran.

As of July 25, US forces had redirected 12 commercial vessels that, according to CENTCOM, attempted to violate the blockade. Two ships that refused to comply with US demands were disabled, while another two were boarded and inspected to enforce the restrictions.

By Jeyhun Aghazada