The US military says one of its helicopters fired missiles to disable a cargo ship that was attempting to breach Washington's blockade of Iranian ports. US Central Command (Centcom) said an MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles into the engine room of the Panama-flagged vessel M/V Vela Nova on Tuesday as it tried to cross the Gulf of Oman, after its crew ignored repeated warnings. The incident marks an escalation in enforcement of the blockade, which the US imposed following failed efforts to end its war with Iran.

Centcom said the missiles were aimed at disabling the ship's steering gear, and confirmed the vessel is "no longer transiting to Iran." The blockade began in April, and Centcom says that as of 11 August it has redirected 55 commercial vessels attempting to breach it, disabled three non-compliant ships, and boarded two others. Iran has not yet responded to the incident.