United States forces disabled a commercial cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman on Saturday, 7 November, after its crew ignored repeated warnings and tried to break the American naval blockade of Iran, US Central Command said.

The vessel was the St Kitts-flagged M/V Huda. According to Central Command, it had visited an Iranian port and was attempting to leave regional waters when American forces intervened. A US military aircraft fired precision munitions at the ship's stern, disabling it, after the crew had been directed to abandon the spaces that were about to be targeted.

Central Command said the ship's civilian crew ignored repeated warnings and made several attempts to violate the blockade. The command gave no details of the crew's condition or the extent of the damage to the vessel, and the account rests on the US military's own statement. No independent confirmation of the strike has been reported.

The incident is the latest enforcement action in a naval blockade the United States has maintained around Iran for months, in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Central Command said that since July, its forces have redirected 147 commercial vessels that complied with the blockade's orders, and disabled five merchant ships that refused to comply. The command estimated that the blockade has prevented Iran from exporting more than $25 billion worth of crude oil.

The Associated Press reported that the last confirmed US strike on a cargo vessel was nearly a month ago, also in the Gulf of Oman, underlining that Saturday's action was the first of its kind in weeks rather than a routine daily event.

The strike came during a tense weekend in the Gulf. President Donald Trump has been threatening a new offensive against Iran, while Tehran has threatened broad retaliation against Gulf infrastructure, putting countries across the region on edge. The blockade itself is part of Washington's pressure campaign on Tehran, which has severely restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz since the war between the United States, Israel and Iran broke out in late February.

For shipping, the message from Saturday's action is plain: vessels that have called at Iranian ports and then attempt to leave regional waters risk being stopped by force. For the wider confrontation, the disabling of the Huda shows the blockade is still being enforced aggressively, even as diplomatic efforts to end the war continue behind the scenes. Reuters reported the Central Command statement on 7 November.