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WATCH: CENTCOM enforces Iran port blockade at sea

The U.S. military has redirected 67 vessels, allowed 15 aid ships through and disabled four during four weeks of interdiction.

U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers launch from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea on May 9, 2026. Source: @CENTCOM/X.
U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter aircraft and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft launch from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea on May 9, 2026. Source: @CENTCOM/X.

U.S. Central Command said on Wednesday it has redirected 67 commercial vessels and disabled four others since launching a blockade on Iranian ports four weeks ago, according to a post on X accompanied by video footage.

Fifteen ships carrying humanitarian aid were allowed to pass, while two vessels earlier this week turned around after U.S. forces issued radio warnings and fired small-arms warning shots to enforce compliance, “clearly demonstrating that U.S. enforcement remains in full effect,” CENTCOM said.

More than 15,000 troops, over 200 aircraft and more than 20 warships are enforcing the blockade.

Washington launched the maritime operation on April 13, targeting all vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports in the Arabian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, disrupting the regime’s oil exports.

It is part of the Trump administration’s “Operation Economic Fury”—a sweeping pressure campaign targeting Tehran’s economy through sanctions enforcement and the naval blockade aimed at choking off the regime’s oil exports and commercial shipping.

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