Live: US military fires on ship violating its blockade of Iranian ports

US military says it fired on ship that violated its blockade of Iranian ports

The US military announced Tuesday that it had fired on a Panama-flagged ship that was attempting to approach an Iranian port in violation of the blockade established by Washington.

A helicopter fired two missiles at the engine room of the cargo ship, the Vela Nova, after its crew “ignored” American warnings, specifies the American military command for the Middle East, Centcom, in a press release published on X.

This is the third time that the US military has used force to enforce its blockade of Iranian ports since it was reinstated on July 14. Since then, American forces say they have redirected 55 ships trying to pass. When the blockade was first established, between mid-April and mid-June, the US military fired on nine ships and redirected more than 140 others.

American President Donald Trump once again assured Tuesday evening that the United States exercises “total control” over the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic route to which Iran restricted access after the American-Israeli offensive at the end of February. “We have total control of the Strait of Hormuz right now. They don’t have control of it. We have total control of it, we own it,” he told reporters.

Oil prices continued to rise on Wednesday morning in Asian trading, with WTI increasing by +0.78% to $83.85 and Brent by 0.66% to $89.50 around 02:20 GMT, driven by the prospect of a lasting blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.

Donald Trump confirms his incredible change of plane

Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday evening that he had secretly changed planes in the face of a “threat” at the beginning of July and assured that he had simply followed the advice of his protection service. “They wanted to put me on another flight, on another plane, with the same security, they wanted me to do it, so I did it. I do what they tell me,” declared the American president near Washington while returning from a trip.

The Washington Post’s revelations on the incredible security operation which took place on the tarmac of Ankara airport on July 8, facing the risk of an Iranian attack, raise questions about the security of the American president as well as the credibility of the threat which weighed on him as much as on the communication from the White House.

That day, to leave the NATO summit in Turkey, the President of the United States was exfiltrated in a supply container to another plane, while Air Force One took off with a dozen journalists on board, wrongly convinced that they were traveling with Donald Trump. The latter finally took his place on board another aircraft.

“I imagine there was a threat. I didn’t ask for much more,” the president said Tuesday evening, when asked about the reason that pushed his protective service, the Secret Service, to advise him on this maneuver. Donald Trump, visibly trying to minimize the episode, claimed to have been “not surprised”, “I am the subject of many threats of which you are not aware.”

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