U.S. disables two Iranian oil tankers as ceasefire strains in Gulf of Oman

A ceasefire with Iran remained officially in place even as a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet disabled two Iranian oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, sharpening the contradiction at the center of Washington’s strategy: whether a truce can hold while coercive enforcement at sea continues.

U.S. Central Command said the Iran-flagged, unladen M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda were transiting toward an Iranian port and were disabled after the aircraft fired precision munitions into their smokestacks. Washington said the blockade against ships entering or leaving Iranian ports remains in full effect, and the military objective was to prevent vessels from breaching that restriction.

The strikes came one day after U.S. forces said they thwarted Iranian attacks on three Navy destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz and responded by striking Iranian military facilities. The latest clash made clear how fragile the month-old truce had become. The Strait of Hormuz normally carries about 20% of the world’s oil trade, turning every escalation there into a market shock with immediate consequences for fuel shipments, insurance rates and shipping schedules.

The action at sea also landed while Washington waited for Tehran’s answer to a U.S. proposal meant to end the war, reopen the strait and roll back Iran’s disputed nuclear program. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that he hoped to receive a “serious offer” later in the day. Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the tanker strikes as “hostile” and said the United States was violating the ceasefire. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said “every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the U.S. opts for a reckless military adventure.”

The pressure is not confined to the water. The United Arab Emirates reported another Iranian missile-and-drone attack, and local reporting said three people were wounded when air defenses engaged the strike. Earlier in the week, U.S. forces disabled another Iranian tanker, the M/T Hasna, after it moved toward an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman. CENTCOM said it has now directed 52 commercial vessels to turn around or return to port since the blockade began last month.

For now, the ceasefire exists alongside a widening campaign of interdiction, retaliation and economic pressure. If Washington’s goal is to force Tehran back to the table, the question is whether disabling tankers in the Gulf of Oman strengthens that leverage or pushes the truce toward collapse.