US Central Command announced this evening (Saturday) that it disabled a ship flying the flag of the St. Kitts Islands after it ignored repeated warnings and attempted to leave the region after visiting an Iranian port.
American forces have been imposing a naval blockade on Iran for months.
This attack comes a day after the US army launched limited raids on Iran, targeting an air defense system.
The British Maritime Trade Operations Authority stated on Saturday that it had received a report of an incident between a cargo ship and military forces in the Gulf of Oman, about 18 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan in the Emirates.
The authority added that it was not yet clear about the condition of the ship’s crew, the damage and the environmental impact.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said on Saturday that it had lifted the restriction it imposed on itself by limiting the range of its ballistic missiles to two thousand kilometers.
The announcement indicates that Iran is seeking to develop missiles capable of reaching longer targets, with mounting fears of renewed all-out war.
Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hussein Mohebi was asked, in a press conference in Tehran, about the restriction on the range of missiles, and he said: “This restriction has been lifted for us.”
Mohebi did not say whether Iran possesses missiles with a range exceeding this limit. He merely said that it would demonstrate “these capabilities in practice,” instead of making statements.
His statement comes days after Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned that “any type and level of threat” from the United States or Israel will be met with a response “without geographical restrictions.”
There is no information available about Iran's possession of missiles with a range exceeding two thousand kilometers, according to the Associated Press. This range puts parts of Greece and the Balkans within range of Iranian missiles.
But American officials said that Iranian space program technologies could be adapted to build intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Iranian media reported hearing explosions today, Saturday, on the Iranian island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz and in the port of Jask in southern Iran, noting that the reasons have not yet become clear.
There has been no official announcement from Iran regarding the source of the explosions.
An Iranian state television correspondent said that the explosions may be linked to the activities of the Iranian army in the Strait of Hormuz, while the Tasnim Agency of the Revolutionary Guard reported, quoting a source, that “the explosions heard on Qeshm Island were not related to missile strikes.”
Tasnim Agency reported earlier today, Saturday, that two missiles hit Qeshm Island, but no official information has yet been received regarding possible damage.
These explosions come days after the United States launched raids on the island.
An American official said that these raids were limited, and were not a resumption of large-scale combat operations.
Countries in the region are anticipating the possibility that US President Donald Trump will resume attacks on Iran after the end of the US congressional elections.
Iran has repeatedly said that it will respond to any new attacks by striking American and Israeli targets in neighboring countries.
